Fate Final Curtain
by RogerShanksLuffy
Summary: The Holy Grail has been summoning servants, and the Mage's Association has sent one of their best, Hayashi Tsukamoto, to investigate these instances and send them back to the Throne of Heroes. Along with his own servants, Nero, Altera, and Jeanne, he sets out on his task. However, his dark past resurfaces, and another powerful servant is eyeing Jeanne. M for Language, Blood, Sex.
1. Part 1: London

**Hey Guys! Here's my new Fate story! My friend and I recently immersed ourselves in the franchise, and it's honestly become my favorite one. We watched them out of order, starting with Fate/Zero, and we just finished Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works today. We're going to watch the Grand Order movie next, which I have finished up through chapter 3 in the game, then onto Apocrypha. I also might be getting Fate/Extella, since I just realized that it's on Steam, and I have an account. This will take place post Unlimited Blade Works. So, without further ado, here we go!**

 **Songs**

 **Preparing to Summon: Confrontation (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Summoning: Rule the Battlefield (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Vs. London Servants: A Chaser (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Jeanne Defeats Caster: Tragedy and Fate (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Nero Defeats Caster: Let the Stars Fall Down (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Altera Summons Her Sword: The World is Tumbling Down (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Altera Vs. Moriarty: This Day and Never Again (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Hayashi vs. Nightingale: Grief (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Hayashi's Condition: Painful (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Watching Jeanne: Secret Maneuvers (Fate/Zero OST)**

A knock at the door.

"What is it?"

"The Vice-Director wants to see you."

"Oh, very well, I'll be right there."

"Thank you, Lord Tsukamoto." Hayashi sighed once he realized that the messenger had left. What did she want now? He just got back to the Clock Tower, and now she wanted to see him again? He sighed, and put his coat on, locking his study and going upstairs to where the "Queen" of London's Clock Tower resided.

Hayashi Tsukamoto. What did that name mean to him? It was his name obviously, but most people knew him as Lord Tsukamoto, the powerful mage with the rank of Brand and the color Red, the second highest rank and the highest accompanying color in all of the Mage's Association. But he wasn't given that rank on his magic abilities alone. He had a special feature about him, and it came down to how he was able to summon and use servants. Multiple sets of command seals, and the unique ability to-

"I'm here."

"Well then get in here." She ordered. He sighed and rolled his eyes, opening the door up into her office and closing the door behind himself. Hayashi walked up to her desk and sat down across from her, sighing.

"So, why did you call me in here, Lorelei?"

"I have an important assignment for you."

"I just got back."

"I know. But this can't wait. Heroic Spirits of all classes have randomly started materializing around most of Europe and Asia."

"Why?"

"Hell if I know. But the Holy Grail had something to do with it. Following the end of the Fifth War three years ago, two of the participants, Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya, moved here and became apprentices of our college. Upon El-Melloi's request, they submitted a report of what they experienced to me. Do you remember what happened at the end of the Fourth War?"

"Yes. I was 13 at the time, but I remember it clearly. After all, it was all over the news. The wish the Grail granted was an end to humanity. Only Fuyuki City was affected, but it was burned to the ground, and there was only one survivor."

"Yes, that's right. This wish that was granted, was the wish of both the Archer servant as well as his master, the now deceased Kirei Kotomine. That servant was Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes and the most powerful of all Heroic Spirits."

"And he was defeated and became the new core for the Holy Grail, yada yada yada. I know this already. So why are we going over this again?"

"Because if the Grail just received the most powerful Servant as its core, isn't it possible that it operated on its own?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Hayashi was one of the few mages in the world who knew what the Grail truly was, and why it was that way. Angra Mainyu, the original Avenger, and the Persian God of Darkness. After his defeat in the Third Holy Grail War, the Grail became corrupted, representing all of the world's evils, and he fused with the chalice, essentially becoming the Grail itself. However, this was secret information that he had not disclosed to anyone below his rank, a policy on the file. Of course, the only others who knew were those with the rank of Grand Mage, the Vice-Director, and the actual Director.

"I suppose it's possible. After all, if you were suddenly given a boost in magic power, wouldn't you want to try out your new abilities as well?"

"Yes, I would. You think that's what's happening?"

"All I know is that the Association always overestimates what's really happening. It's probably a simple solution, something like that. We're getting off topic. What is it exactly that you want me to do?"

"Ahem. You're right. The reason why you're a Brand Red is because you have the unusual capacity to be able to summon and control multiple servants at a time, no matter what class they are. That's why you're the perfect person for this job. Your task is to summon servants of your own, as many as you need, and take out the rest of them to return this world to normal."

"...I LITERALLY just got back. And now you want me to travel around half the world?"

"I know it's not ideal."

"That's the understatement of the century. I know you'd prefer me because of my specialties with Heroic Spirits, but can't you just send like three or four other powerful mages instead?"

"The less manpower we need, the better. London is no exception to this phenomenon. We've detected rogue servant activity here as well. And we need as many capable mages as possible to help keep the Clock Tower safe. This is a direct order from the Director, you know."

"Ugh. You guys are impossible. Fine, fine. I guess I'll go get ready to summon some servants then. Where do you want me to start?"

"Up to you. But I recommend starting in this city so that we don't have to worry so much."

"Yeah." He waved, heading out and going back down the hall to where his room was.

 **X**

Three years. He hadn't summoned a servant since then. Since the accident. This time had to be different. He needed to summon a regular servant, not...him.

He got dressed properly, putting on gray pants, black shoes, a white shirt, a black jacket with the emblem of the Mage's Association on it, and a black trench coat. The only things he took with him were his wallet and his small notebook, along with a pen. Locking his door behind him, he went off to the basement.

"Lord Tsukamoto?" One of the guards asked.

"I need the biggest room we have down here, orders from both the Director and Vice-Director."

"Right this way, sir." The guard led him into the biggest summoning room they had, an extremely high ceiling, as well as very wide and long. It could easily fit three summoning circles inside of it.

"Perfect. That is all, you may leave me."

"Of course, sir." Once the door closed, Hayashi turned the lights on, and got right to work drawing up three summoning circles. Once he was finished, he stood in front of the middle one, and held out his hand, gathering magic power through his arm, and beginning the incantations.

"Come now, Heroes of the Past. I call on your powers to guide me, and help me through this hellish time. I use your abilities not in the interests of the Holy Grail, but for the interests of humanity and only for humanity. From stone to bronze, from bronze to iron, from iron to steel, from steel to silver, from silver to gold, and from gold to platinum, so too have you evolved throughout your past lives. Bless me with their forms in their prime, and allow me to call upon their abilities to make this world right!"

The three circles began to light up with magical energy, and before long, three different people began to materialize.

The first one was very short, not even reaching 5 feet, and probably less than 100 pounds. She had blonde hair that was tied back into a bun with a red ribbon, piercing green eyes, and wore a poofy red dress that had gold trim and was white and completely transparent in the front, displaying the Roman shin guards and the bottom of her underwear. Despite wearing an outfit that seemed to be too big in some places and too small in others, she was very beautiful, and seemed to have a certain air of authority about her, despite being short and skinny.

The second one was noticeably taller than the first, but was also relatively short by modern standards, standing only a few inches above the five foot mark. She as well only seemed to weigh little more than 100 pounds, but this time, it looked to be mostly muscle mass. She didn't have visible abs, or ripped arms, but you could tell that she was extremely strong compared to a normal servant. She wore a somewhat skimpy outfit (as if the last one was anything more), a white dress and rather revealing skirt that had short white frills jutting out from it, but still did little to cover her legs, really only succeeding in shrouding her special place from view. Her arms had white sleeves that went from her forearms to a little below her shoulders. She had short white hair, only going to the top of her back, but due to the long veil she wore, it seemed as if she had long hair. Although, to Hayashi, the most noticeable feature about her was her red eyes, that had a loneliness and lack of life in them. Eyes like his.

The third servant was very beautiful, and was slightly shorter than the second, while also seeming to weigh less. She wore an obvious medieval outfit: long dark blue leggings that went up to her thighs, a long dark blue skirt that was open on the side, and same color clothes that covered her upper body. She had a slightly darker mini cape that just went around her neck, and two chains that wrapped around her chest, connected by small silver plates. She had silver plated armor that covered both arms and feet, as well as a large piece that extended from just below her large breasts to a little past her waist. Wrapped around the stomach area of her armor was a thin black sash with a scabbard, and an ornate rapier housed in it. Her hair was long and blonde, braided into a long ponytail that went down her back and rested against her rear, the very end tied together by a black bow. She also had a bit of plated armor on the front of her head, on her hair, and had amethyst eyes. The final thing she wore was a large dark blue cloak that was draped around her shoulders, a big white cross emblazoned on the side, and with two white shoulder pauldrons that were tied together with a string, also keeping the cape up.

Once the light died down, the three looked around and found Hayashi standing in front of them.

"Huh? What's going on?" The one in red asked.

"It appears we've been summoned." The third responded. The second remained silent, seemingly surprised that she had been summoned in the first place.

"Hm? You there! Are you my Master?" The first asked again, pointing at him.

"Yes."

"I see. And us? Where are our masters?" The second finally spoke up.

"Once again, you're looking at him. I summoned all three of you." Their eyes all widened, especially the medieval one.

'To summon me alone is an impressive feature...but to summon myself and two others at the same time? Who is this master of mine?'

"Yeah. I know you're all surprised. I have the magical capacity to summon and control multiple Heroic Spirits at once. Now then...your names."

"Saber."

"Also Saber."

"Ruler."

"Well that's all well and good, but I meant your true names."

"Why would we tell you our true names right away? I need to have a certain degree of trust in my master already present before I disclose that information." The second saber said.

"It's the same for me, but in the opposite way. I feel as if I can't trust you as my helpers if I don't know your real names. So what are they?" They all looked at each other in silence before turning back to him.

"Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. You may address me as-"

"JESUS CHRIST!" Hayashi yelled, startling all three of them.

"WHAT?! WHERE?! HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" Nero screamed back, frantically looking around the room.

"No, it's...it's an expression-don't worry about it." He shook his head. "You're Nero?!"

"That's what I said. You may address me as Emperor Nero."

"Do you have any memories of what you did in your life?! You're one of the most notorious tyrants in history! Hell, tons of people considered you to be the Antichrist!"

"Antichrist? What's that?" She asked curiously.

"THE SPAWN OF THE DEVIL." He said slowly and commandingly.

"That's impossible! You lie! The Roman people loved me! Rome loved me! I was the city of Rome itself!"

"So then I take it you don't remember?"

"Well, no...after my mother died, I began to have frequent headaches and my mental state admittedly declined…I don't remember anything after that...It's as if I was in a dream..."

"You were hysteric and delirious. Many people blamed you for starting the Great Fire of Rome in order to level a good portion of the city and build your Domus Aurea. In fact, they said you sang and played the fiddle while it was happening." The other two's expressions softened, and directed their eyes towards Nero, remembering what they had heard about the insane emperor during their own times.

"So...what did I end up doing?" Nero asked quietly.

"Let me see…" Hayashi took out his phone and looked her up. The others waited patiently, but were curious as to what the device he was holding was.

"Hmmm…...Okay, so apparently you didn't actually sing or fiddle while the fire happened. That's just urban myth. You also didn't actually start the fire, and were away as it happened. And upon return, you administered aid to the citizens personally, and even opened your palaces to give homes to those who didn't have them."

"Umu! I told you I was a good leader!"

"However...as the public slighted you for causing the fire, you threw the suspicion off of yourself by blaming the Christians, and then proceeded to throw them to the dogs, nail them to crosses, and sometimes dip them in oil, light them on fire, and used the burning bodies to illuminate your gardens at night time. Jesus."

"Where?!"

"He's not here! He's dead! Anyway, some historians also believe that you exiled your first wife to marry your second, then ended up kicking her to death while she was pregnant with your second child, and going on to marry a man who looked very much like her. You castrated him and took him back to the palace, calling him the pet names you used to call her."

"What?! What else does it say about me?!" She asked hurriedly.

"Umm…" He scrolled down more. "You fastened naked boys and girls to stakes before putting on the hides of wild animals, and then attack them, giving the appearance of devouring their bodies. You murdered your brother and your mother, had a squad of 5000 roman soldiers clap at every one of your performances so that you felt good about your singing, emptied out the Roman Treasury in order to build your Domus Aurea, instead of using it to fund the city's rebuilding, and then ordered your own assistant to impale you after the revolt, even though the messengers that were arriving were there to tell you that you were being reinstated. I think that about covers it." He put his phone back in his pocket. Nero was clearly saddened by this information.

"I see...my brother, Britannicus, was murdered by the senate, not myself, and I sent an assassin to get rid of my mother, but that didn't work, so I had no choice but to kill her publicly. Those I know for sure weren't my fault. But these other atrocities...I never thought I'd become like my uncle…"

"Not to rub salt in the wound, but a lot of these historians consider you worse than Caligula, although I personally disagree. After all, a lot of these accounts are rather contrasting to each other, and some recent historians don't believe you were as bad as the old ones are saying. So not all of it may be true."

"Still though…"

"Well...anyways, let's move on. This is depressing everyone." Hayashi sighed, turning to the second servant.

"My name is Altera. The Hun King who serves the God of War, Mars."

"Oh, you've gotta be freaking kidding me…" Hayashi shook his head.

"Is something the matter?" She asked.

"It's just...I mean, how am I stuck with two notorious tyrants? I mean, being Attila the Hun, I'm sure you're incredibly powerful, but you're…"

"If it makes you feel better, I personally do not like fighting."

"Then why did you conquer most of eastern Europe and a good part of western Asia?" He asked with half-lidded eyes.

"Because I knew not of anything else. I am nothing but a warrior, a savage killing machine by nature. And while I pondered upon what other life I could lead, it was nigh impossible for me to comprehend, because the only thing in front of me were armies to be crushed."

"Getting darker…" he mumbled to himself. "And you?" He looked to the third. "What do you have in common with these two?"

"Not a lot, I'd like to think. My name is Jeanne d'Arc."

"Oh. Well that's a nice change of pace. Nice to meet you, Jeanne. I look forward to working with you."

"Me as well, Master." she smiled.

"Why does she get special treatment?!" Nero asked angrily.

"Maybe because she was considered a hero and not...whatever it is you two are." He pointed back and forth at the other two, only making the Red Saber pout more. Altera acted indifferently.

"Um...if I may...for what purpose did you summon us? Is there a Holy Grail War beginning?" Jeanne asked shyly.

"No. The previous war finished up three years ago. I summoned you because of the repercussions of that war. At the end of it, the darkness inside the Grail was released, and it was sealed up again by stealing the Archer Class Servant Gilgamesh and using him as its new core. Gilgamesh is widely considered to be the most powerful Heroic Spirit that's possible to summon. So, with a new core like that, the Grail summoned many servants across Europe and Asia, and it's become our responsibility to defeat them and send them back to the Throne."

"Do you know how many there are?"

"No, I don't. But I know that it didn't discriminate. Some servants were heroes, while some were much more like anti-heroes. Of course, the most dangerous ones are our primary threat, but we can't allow so many to exist in this world at once. Their magic power will start to tear the fabric of reality apart. And obviously, we can't have that. So it falls to us to save the world, in a sense."

"Understood! And I'll get to see my beloved Rome again!" Nero hugged herself excitedly.

"Alright then. But first...I think we're going to have to buy you guys some more modern clothes." He scratched his chin, watching the either confused or embarrassed faces of them.

"What's wrong with my outfit? It makes me look adorable!" Nero protested.

"Because it's not normal to see people wearing a roman imperial dress, or an ancient skimpy...whatever that is, or medieval armor complete with a cape that has a cross on it anymore. It's been 600 years since Jeanne was born after all, and that means it's been 1600 since you died, and 1950 since you died." He looked at all of them, before closing his eyes.

"Aren't servants given some knowledge of whatever era they're summoned into?"

"Not very much. We know of cars and lights and whatnot, but we don't really know what society's norm is." Jeanne replied.

"Alright then, I guess we have some work to do in the cultural department. I guess I'll start catching you up on what you missed soon. But like I said, let's go get you some clothes to start."

 **X**

Hayashi took them to a nearby outlet, allowing them to observe many people's different outfits along the way to get an idea of what they wanted to wear. Once arriving, he let them go and pick something out, promising to pay for everything, and telling them that he'd wait out front. After waiting a few minutes, Nero came out, dressed in a short frilly red dress with black trim. A thin and transparent black ribbon was tied in a bow under her breasts. She wore frilly white socks as well, along with red shoes with tall heels.

"Well, Master? What do you think?" She giggled, spinning around for him once.

"It's certainly an improvement."

"Hey! That gown is what I usually wear!"

"I know, I know. I meant no disrespect, but this just looks more...normal, I guess. Is that what you decided on?"

"Yes, these as well." She held up a small pile of various other shirts, jackets, shorts, underwear, and socks.

"Master...is this appropriate?" Altera came out as well, now wearing short black athletic shorts with two red lines running down the sides, plus a turquoise tank top. She had red wristbands on too, and had tied both her hair and her veil back into a ponytail.

"Yeah...that's great." He almost stuttered, feeling attraction to one of the most powerful conquerors in history. Hayashi regained his composure and took notice of the other clothes that she had with her.

"You're getting all of those?"

"Indeed. I don't expect this quest of yours to take long to complete, so I figured I might have some time to explore these places I never got to go to."

"Oh, really? Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but I believe that this 'quest' will take a bit longer than you think."

"We shall see. With my strength, most enemies will surrender before it even begins." She said emotionlessly, and with a confidence that didn't even merit a response from her commander.

"Master...pray tell, who is this singing?" Nero asked, pointing up to the ceiling, where the speakers were playing music. So she figured that one out already.

"This song? It's Nobody Love by Tori Kelly."

"Tori Kelly? I like her voice, but I know I can do better! Bring me to her, and we shall compete! And I will prove my superiority." Altera and Hayashi both stared at her blankly.

"Okay, a couple of things. First, she has one of the strongest voices in all of Pop Music, and considering her range, no offense, but I doubt that you could beat her. Second, I can't just bring her to you. She's an icon, and I don't know her personally. I can't just go up to her and say 'here's someone who thinks she can sing better than you. Go.'"

"That's how we used to do it in my time!"

"Well, if you recall what I told you a half hour ago, it's been almost 2000 years since you were alive. So, by that logic, the world is not exactly the same as it was back then." He explained sarcastically, making her cross her arms and pout again.

"What's taking Jeanne so long? I guess she's the shopping type?" Hayashi wondered. Right on cue, she walked out of the fitting room, now wearing a outfit that was a bit revealing. She had removed her head piece, and now wore a sleeveless white collared shirt that was open in the back, along with a short black tie. It was accompanied by a short, tight black skirt, along with tall black leggings, and fancy brown shoes.

"Master...how is this?" she asked shyly, also carrying a small pile of clothes. Hayashi had no reply, and neither did the other two.

"M-Master...say something…" she squeaked.

"...You're not wearing a bra." He replied, noticing that there was nothing really under her shirt.

"N-No, I'm not...It was too uncomfortable with this shirt. I hope it isn't that apparent...do you think people will stare?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'll take care of them if they do. Besides, that shirt's not see-through." They walked up to the register and Hayashi paid for all of their clothes, then taking them to his home.

His house was fairly big, two stories, though not a single room unused or overused. Hayashi seemed to be an organized person.

"I guess the first thing I should figure out is where you're going to sleep."

"Big fluffy bed!" Nero cheered.

"Anywhere." Altera replied.

"I'm not particular either, Master." Jeanne smiled.

'It's like I have three daughters.' Hayashi rubbed his face.

"Alright, follow me." He led them upstairs, bringing them into the guest room, where there was a full-sized bed and a couch on the opposite wall.

"Two of you can sleep in here. And I guess the third will stay in my room. Any volunteers?"

"Me! Bed!"

"That's not fair. We should take turns." Altera protested with a monotonous tone, as usual.

"Indeed. All three of us were summoned, and all three of us should take turns protecting him." Jeanne agreed.

"Well...I suppose that makes sense...but I get the first night!" She called, running down the hall.

"Just...try to deal with her." Hayashi advised, the other two nodding slowly.

"You can put your clothes in that dresser against the wall. Call if you need anything, and feel free to take a look around." He nodded to them before going down the hall and finding Nero already lying down in his queen-sized bed, hugging the pillows, sprawled out across the entire thing.

"Please tell me that's not the position that you sleep in."

"It's not. At least I don't think it is. Don't worry, I'm nice enough to let you have some room in your own sleeping chamber." She winked at him.

"Yeah. Somehow I'm not fully convinced. Anyways, you can put what clothes you bought in that dresser there. I don't really use it."

"My thanks, Master. Actually, do you mind if I refer to you as Praetor?"

"Depends on what it means?"

"It was a title that our government granted to men who were either the commander of an army, or an elected official. You are both, in a sense, since you were chosen for this campaign, and are also our leader."

"Then no. I don't mind."

"Very well then!" She leapt up and began to put her clothes away.

"You know, I'm a bit surprised. I thought most Roman emperors had people to do everything for them. You have a bit of that haughtiness, but you don't mind doing things yourself."

"Yes, I often argued with the Senate about that. They believed that the Emperor was above interaction with the public, and I disagreed. What's the point of being a leader if you cannot lead yourself?"

"Good point. I like that."

"Yes. At least that's how I wanted things to go. My predatory mother tried to use my position to form Rome into her ideal city. And that meant poisoning me as a child in order to make me obey her without opposition."

"So that's why your mind deteriorated."

"Yes. The last thing I remember clearly was executing her. Of course, those atrocities I committed were real, but they feel a bit hazy as memories."

"Nero. Here's something to think about. If you were such a monster, then why were you summoned as a Heroic Spirit, and before your decline at that? Clearly, you must have made a rather large positive influence during your early years."

"Yeah...maybe you're right, but...it doesn't change what I did. I can't go back and redo anything, and as you said, this was almost 2000 years ago now. I'm not remembered as a good person, I'm remembered as a demon."

"To me, you're just another person who I haven't gotten to know yet. You know what? I never met the real Emperor Nero. And now I'm having a conversation with her. And I'm sure as I get to know you better, I'll learn who the real person is." He smiled at her before going downstairs and turning the TV on, sitting on the couch. A few minutes later, the other three came down and sat down next to him.

"Master...if you don't mind my saying, shouldn't we be out looking for rogue servants?" Jeanne asked.

"That'd be nice if I knew where to start looking. My boss said that she'd let us know when she finds a trail to follow. In the meantime, we can relax here. You should take advantage of it, I imagine in your lifetimes there weren't a whole lot of opportunities to do nothing." He stretched, putting his hands behind his head. Jeanne looked at him curiously before exhaling softly.

"Let's see, what could we watch in the meantime?" He pondered. He turned on his Xbox and started up Netflix.

"How about Family Guy? Oh, here's one you'll like." He started up the episode "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph."

"What is...all of this called?" Altera asked.

"Oh...right." He paused it and stood up, walking over to the TV.

"This is what we call a Television, or TV for short. It lets you watch TV Shows, movies, and play video games on it. It's like watching a play anytime you want. That black box on the bottom shelf is called an Xbox. It also lets you watch stuff, but is made mostly for playing digital games through the TV." He went and sat back down between them, starting it up again.

"This show is called Family Guy. It's an animated adult comedy. Watch, you'll see." Throughout the episode, they all laughed at one point or another. Jeanne especially liked the part where they were figuring out what to name Jesus, and God was running through the list and denying each one. Nero loved the line where Jesus asked Mary why he was born so quickly and easily if she's a virgin. And Altera liked the part where Jesus disintegrated King Herod's army with his spaceship. Of course.

"That was funny! What else is there to see?" Nero asked.

"There's lots of shows. You're going to have to be more specific."

"Something else like that!"

"Let's see...The Simpsons, American Dad, Rick and Morty, Bojack Horseman, and Big Mouth are the most similar to that, I guess."

"What are they about?" Jeanne asked.

"The Simpsons and American Dad are pretty similar to the one we just watched. It's just dumb family humor, though the latter is a bit more political. Rick and Morty is about a boy and his Grandpa going on crazy science fiction adventures through multiple worlds, Bojack Horseman is about a depressed horse movie star, and Big Mouth is about teenagers going through puberty for the first time. It's probably the dirtiest out of all of them."

"Then not that one." Jeanne said, blushing slightly.

"That science one intrigues me, as a matter of fact. I never had a chance to study magic and the arcane in my lifetime, and so I find concepts like that interesting."

"Nero?"

"I'd like that too."

"Alright then. This show's better if you start from the beginning, since some of the later episodes reference the previous ones." He started up the pilot, and they went through it. Once it was over, there was a moment of silence between the four of them as Hayashi looked back and forth, curious as to what they thought of this one.

"...Well?"

"Vulgar." Jeanne said with a bit of disgust.

"Hilarious!" Nero disagreed.

"Highly entertaining." Altera also praised it.

"Alright, one by one. What was wrong with it, Jeanne?"

"I guess parts of it were funny, but it was extremely undignified that he had to put those seeds up his rear, and the principal's name was Vagina, and the fight with those insect guards was gruesome, and most importantly, why must Rick belch so often?" A light pink tainted her cheeks again, as she gritted her teeth a bit.

"Because he's constantly drunk, that's why. What, you haven't done the same?"

"I most certainly have not!" Her blush intensified as she crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"You most certainly have! I know for a fact that back in medieval times and before, even children drank a weak beer because it was cleaner than water. Considering that you were in France, which even today has one of the lowest legal drinking ages in the world, you must have drank wine or something with your meals, right?"

"I...used to drink wine…" she muttered.

"Well there you go." Hayashi smiled and nodded triumphantly, silencing the embarrassed french beauty.

"It is nothing to be ashamed of Jeanne! I belched all the time back in my day! It was considered a charismatic display!" Nero exclaimed.

"Yeah, for men, maybe!" She shot back. "That type of behavior is not appropriate for women!" Realizing that they weren't getting anywhere in their argument, they went for a tiebreaker.

"What about you?!" They asked Altera at the same time. She slowly looked at them.

"I had no time for such trivialities. I was too busy slaughtering my opponents and conquering land."

'She's such a buzzkill…' They both thought at the same time, frowning and pulling back.

"So then...what did you like about it?" Hayashi asked her.

"I enjoyed the part where Morty shot the insect's legs off, even if by accident."

"Uh...huh. Anything else?"

"I suppose I enjoyed the concept in general. While the father, Jerry, was trying to sabotage Rick and Morty's adventure, they found a way to trick him and continue on. I look forward to seeing more."

"Nero?"

"Same as her. Except unlike little Ms. Prim and Proper over there, I thought that his excessive burping was funny and a nice touch." she giggled, just making Jeanne shrink down into the couch even more."

Hayashi's phone rang, prompting him to answer it.

"Hello? Hey, did you find something? Alright, great. Thanks." He hung up and stood up, preparing to go out.

"Master?" Jeanne asked.

"We have a few hits. Seven servants in London. We need to go take care of them."

"Understood!" They stood up and materialized their original clothing.

"She said that they were by Big Ben, so they're staying within the city after all. Let's get going."

 **X**

"This is...London, is it not?" a man asked.

"Indeed. Our home." Another answered.

"Although it appears to be somewhat far into the future." A large contraption that towered over the others spoke with a robotic voice, directing their attention to an electronic sign that stated the year.

"2007? It has indeed been a long time. About 400 years since my end, in any case."

"400? You are old, then. It has only been around 100 years for me." A woman explained.

"Me as well." The others agreed.

"Then we must have been alive around the same Victorian Era, save for him. Do you know what we are to do while active here?" She asked again.

"We are not to do a thing. Our very presence will achieve our goal." A lighter voice, who was the leader of the group, reaffirmed.

 **X**

"Jeanne, you're a Ruler class. Can't you sense servants' presence?"

"Yes, I can. We're close. But there is something different about me this time. Normally, Rulers are summoned by the Grail itself to mediate over Grail Wars. But this time, there is no war, and I was summoned by a Master. As such, I was not given my own set of command seals this time. Our actions are controlled by you."

"Of course. I wouldn't worry about that."

"Master. On that roof." Altera notified, as everyone looked up and discovered a person sitting on the roof of a nearby building, smiling down at them.

"My, so there are others here as well. I thought we'd be the only ones."

"You are one of them. One of the Heroic Spirits of London summoned by the Holy Grail." Hayashi addressed her. It was unfortunate that it was already dark. It would be somewhat harder to fight without much light, but thanks to moonlight and some street lights, they had a pretty good view as long as they were out in the open.

The servant they met was a beautiful woman, perhaps in her late 20s. She had long flowing silver hair and a mature body, as well as curious light red eyes that spoke of a terrifying past, given her expression. She wore tall white boots and white leggings, a black skirt with red trim, a red button down military uniform, white gloves, and had two green packs hanging against her hips by a white strap over her shoulder. There was also a white belt around her waist, where a pistol was attached. She wore a long black coat over everything to complete her outfit.

"I am indeed. Berserker Class Florence Nightingale, at your service."

"Why the hell are you a Berserker?"

"The horrors of treating the wounded...in a time when medicine was not particularly prominent...what injuries I treated and what illnesses they had...it almost drove me mad. Perhaps that's why."

"I see. Where are your friends?"

"Friends? I don't really know any of them that well. But I suppose I could introduce you to them…" Something about her composure seemed off...she was so calm, despite being outnumbered three to one. She was either really strong, or…

"Watch out!" He yelled, as the others gasped, dodging a magic projectile that flew by them and hit a building.

"Damn!" Hayashi countered by firing his own yellow beams of magic energy in that direction.

"Nice try." They were deflected by other projectiles, Hayashi looking up and finding another servant, probably an archer class, over on top of another building.

'Descend…' They heard a command, and obeyed it, coming down and facing the three. Apart from Nightingale, there were two other men.

One of them had medium length light brown hair and a beard and small mustache. He wore an old fashioned elaborate red and black cloak with gold trim on it, along with what looked like an Elizabethan hat, and had a black feather sticking out at the front. He held a large black and gold book in his hand.

The other one was a bit older, perhaps in his forties, and wore a very intricate outfit: brown striped suit pants and a matching brown striped dress coat, which could be assumed he wore a shirt and vest underneath, complete with a red cravat, golden chains, and a golden shoulderguard with pink tassels, along with a black, gold,white, and blue cape, and a golden cane sword in his hand, with a chameleon head as the top ornament. He also carried a very large white, gold, and blue contraption with stood perhaps a foot taller than himself. It looked like it acted as a shield as well as a gun and rocket launcher of some sort.

"Caster, William Shakespeare! Pleased to make your acquaintance." The first one bowed.

"I'd prefer to keep my true name a secret for now. You may call me Archer of Shinjuku."

"Master...that one, the Archer, seems incredibly more powerful than the others." Jeanne whispered into his ear.

"Yeah...I'm going to have to leave him to you. The other two are Sabers, they have a big disadvantage."

"No. With respect Master, I will handle him." Altera told them.

"Are you really sure? An Archer class isn't your best match up."

"It's alright."

'Fight her.' Archer heard his leader's voice again and started jumping across rooftops, Altera going after him.

"In that case, which one do you two want?" Jeanne looked over at Berserker.

"You can leave her to me."

"Oh, I'm not fighting yet." She smiled. She then put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly.

"Charles, dear, help me out?" She called. The three's eyes widened as they heard a large stomping that got closer and closer.

"Um...what is that?" Hayashi asked nervously, spotting a sinister red light in the distance. As it continued towards them, it was revealed to be an enormous gray and gold contraption, almost in the form of a nutcracker soldier.

"Which one, Florence?" A deep voice answered from within the suit, with a robotic voice.

"That's entirely up to you, dear." she responded.

"Very well."

"Praetor, leave him to me. I have a method to defeat him." Nero said.

"Alright. Be careful."

"Yes!" She jumped off further into the city, while the machine activated thrusters and hovered after her.

"In that case Master, I will deal with Caster." Jeanne volunteered, going off with Shakespeare.

"Then you're mine." Hayashi turned to Florence, who grinned and jumped down.

"I suppose. But what makes you think a simple Mage can defeat a Servant?"

"I'm not just a simple mage. And I meant to ask...where are the other three?"

"Hm?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I was informed that there were seven servants total that materialized. There's been four of you: yourself, that machine guy, Shakespeare, and that other guy, Archer. So where's the last three?"

"I see. You are smart. But what army reveals all of their strategies right away? As for you, you only have those three servants, correct? Therefore, we have no other surprises to prepare for. Do you see my logic?"

"Yes. You're smart as well, since you're absolutely right. But you're forgetting that my three servants might have a few surprises of their own. But enough about them. You're dealing with me right now."

"Well alright then. Let's see how you do."

 **X**

"May I ask your true name, milady? It's only fair since I disclosed mine." Shakespeare smiled at her.

"Jeanne d'Arc."

"Well well! To think that I'd be in the presence of a legendary hero! Well then Holy Maiden let's see how you fight!" Shakespeare quickly opened his book, flipping through pages and casting spells, firing bursts of white light off of his free hand. Jeanne manifested her flag, twirling it around before slicing through his efforts.

"Oh? How amusing. It is true, you rallied your allies with a flag more often than fighting yourself." He continued casting larger and faster bursts, which were getting a bit harder for Jeanne to counter. They kept getting faster, and finally Jeanne was hit and knocked back onto the ground.

"Hmm...this is extraordinary! Being a Caster class servant, I am not normally suited for combat. But my master is extraordinarily powerful, and so I have become stronger as well! I was even revived in my original state!" He exclaimed, flourishing his robes.

"Haha…" Jeanne giggled, standing up and dusting herself off. "You are still weaker than my master. I can feel it. His magic power surpasses yours!"

"What?! Impossible! He is human, and I am an immortalized Heroic Spirit! There is no possible way his magic surpasses mine!"

"You are arrogant. You underestimate humans. Some of their mages are incredibly powerful! And he is my master! Here's the work of the Lord! My flag, defend our brethrens! Luminosité Eternelle!" She twirled her flag around again, and it started to glow golden, creating a magic shield that protected her from all damage. Shakespeare continued to fire white bursts at her, but she shrugged them off this time, rushing up to him and slicing across his torso with the spike of her flag, damaging him and causing him to fall back onto the ground.

"You and I have similar fighting styles. I am Ruler class, therefore I also do not fight primarily. However, should the need arise, I will not hesitate to unsheath my weapons."

"A Ruler? Ha, then you are just like him." He stood back up again, dusting himself off, and flipping his book back open.

"You know Holy Maiden, with a past as tragic as yours, I believe I know what could fell you in battle."

"Oh? I am curious, but I can't let that get the better of me. I will finish you here." Her golden glow disappeared, and she readied her flag.

"You've dropped your Noble Phantasm. That was a poor choice. Now, it is time to raise the curtains! The title of my Noble Phantasm is, First Folio! Start the play!" He snapped his fingers, and Jeanne's eyes widened as her perception of reality changed.

" _Jeanne, my beloved…"_

Her eyes widened, recognizing the voice.

"Gilles…" She looked around, finding him slowly walking through the catacombs, slowly walking into a dark and big room. Lighting a candle, it was revealed to have multiple corpses...CHILDREN'S corpses...piled on the floor, along with some that were restrained against the wall, seemingly beaten and exhausted.

"What...is this?!" She cried.

"Everyone has regrets in their lifetime, my dear." She heard Shakespeare's voice this time. "And you are absolutely no exception. Given your circumstances, you do not know what happened to your dear comrade following your execution, do you?"

" _Monsieur...I beg of you...please let us go…" One of them choked out._

" _Quiet, you heathen!" He unsheathed his sword and swiftly decapitated the four children that were strung up._

"No! Gilles!" Jeanne screamed.

 _Gasping, he fell to his knees, gazing upon the blood that he had just spilt._

" _Do you see, children? God has forsaken us. Because if he truly cared, shouldn't I be struck down for these acts I have committed? Yet I am not. I continue to perform these deeds. God forsook my dear Jeanne when she was convicted, and now he has forsaken the world itself. There is no supreme authority anymore, there is only people! Filthy, disgusting people!" He yelled, losing his sanity._

" _Gilles...stop this…" She held her face, tears streaming down._

"Do you see now, Holy Maiden? Following your death, your people abandoned all hope. A simple countryside girl, but they believed in you more than their own monarch. Your comrade Gilles de Rais would rape and slaughter hundreds of innocent children and perform unholy rituals, and in the end, was only detained and executed for the crime of political treason, which he had never confessed to." The illusion broke, and Jeanne was now on the ground, shaken.

"What was...the point of this?"

"The point? There was none. My Noble Phantasm, First Folio, is for breaking others' spirits. No matter who I face, I can reenact their innermost fears and regrets as a show, and go on to destroy their mental stability. You are just one exemplary instance where your death affected many in such drastic ways. I'm afraid we've come to the closing act of the performance. Farewell, Holy Maiden." He charged up a powerful magic burst and fired it point blank, sending her reeling backwards. He scoffed and began to walk past her, but stopped when he heard her stand back up again.

"Hm...so you are not broken after all."

"What you showed me is distressing, I'm not denying that. But given what year it is, these actions were carried out almost 600 years ago, and Gilles and I are long since alive. So the children of these times are safe."

"Are they?"

"Yes, they are!" She detached her cape, as it was torn apart from Shakespeare's last attack. She rushed towards him and this time slashed him twice across the front, as he finally fell over, coughing up blood and laughing. Jeanne stood over him, panting.

"It looks like this is once again my final performance. How extraordinary...that I could die twice...my fame truly precedes me…Holy Maiden...you are mistaken…" he laughed, smiling at her.

"Mistaken about what?"

"The children of these times are not safe. Gilles de Rais was immortalized as a Heroic Spirit as well, meaning that it is possible he can be summoned multiple times. And who is to say that he will not continue his actions then? And will you be there to stop him?"

She looked down sadly.

"Perhaps that's true...but I have faith; not in God this time, but in humanity; that someone will stop him if he continues them."

"He...hehe...you are truly amazing, Jeanne d'Arc. It was a privilege to both fight and converse with you."

"Thank you, Caster." Shakespeare closed his eyes and smiled as his body dispersed into golden magic particles.

"Now then...I have to get back to Master." She headed back towards Hayashi.

 **X**

"Haaah!" Nero dodged the machine's attacks, which wasn't that hard considering that he was really slow, even with his thrusters.

'His speed clearly isn't a problem...it's his attack and defense that are overwhelming.'

"You are quite the nimble one, female Saber." the robot complimented.

"Being short comes with its advantages. Now why don't you tell me who you really are?"

"Only if you tell me."

"Very well. Nero. Nero Claudius Caesar."

"Hoh...a feisty one. I like that. I myself am the Caster Class Charles Babbage. The King of Steam."

"I've never heard of you."

"I wouldn't expect you to. I only died a little over 100 years ago. Your time was long before my own. Although I didn't complete it during my lifetime, I focused on creating and powering the first computers with a steam engine. And you are the tyrannical fifth emperor of the Ancient Roman Empire."

"Tyrannical no longer means anything to me. My very being right now is before my downfall happened. You are facing one of the glorious rulers of Rome. Aestus Estus: The Embryonic Flame." Nero held her hand out and her large jagged red and black sword materialized into her hand.

"You believe you can defeat me with that sword?"

"Umu. You will fall here, as my Master has commanded it." She jumped and slashed across his armor diagonally, but it didn't leave a scratch.

"Your sword is not strong enough to break through." He grabbed her by the dress and flung her back against another building.

"Ugh...you brute...I guess that I can't hurt you without my special ability…" She stood back up and slid her hand along the length of the blade, flames beginning to form around it.

"Fire…?" He asked hesitantly.

"Indeed. I am not called Red Saber just for my outfit. I offered to fight you because heat melts metal. Even I know that." She smirked, running up to him and slashing across his front twice, this time leaving flaming red marks.

"Grgh!"

"You are a Caster Class, and you are powerful, but you are slow. I can deal with you easily."

"Can you? You may regret saying that. Dimension Steam!" His robot began emitting emitting steam, and before long, nothing was left of the real world.

"This is a reality marble…" Nero mumbled.

"Yes, it is. My Noble Phantasm, Dimension Steam." Nero looked around as he disappeared into the vapor, being unable to see him anymore.

She cried out as he suddenly came crashing down, his humongous scepter plowing into her and smashing her into the ground. His Noble Phantasm disappeared and he slowly got up off of her, her body seemingly crushed.

"It seems that you were not the combat type. You are the type of leader who hides their physical strength behind their political power. What a disgrace." His machine began to walk away, but she got back up.

"What?!" Their surroundings began to change again, and before long, they were in a golden coliseum-like theater.

"Welcome to the Aestus Domus Aurea...my personal theater." She grinned.

"What…? A reality marble?"

"No, not quite. This is just the location reproduced by me through mana."

"But you shouldn't have this much left after that strike I performed!"

"Do you really think I couldn't see you in that dimension? You're a giant robot, with red glowing eyes, and I can hear you as very easily as well. I used a skill of mine, Imperial Privilege, to increase my defenses. I figured I'd catch you off guard if I took a hit and made it seem like I was beaten. And now…Imperial Privilege!" She used it again, her flames starting up and her wounds healing.

"I'm better than even my top form. There's no doubt that your suit is sturdier than I initially thought, but let's see it survive an Anti-Team Noble Phantasm! Laus Saint Claudius!" She flew past him, slicing with her improved blade, practically cutting the robot in half, and defeating it. A giant pillar of flames consumed him as well, as Nero's theater disappeared and they were sent back to the city.

"I...lost…" he mumbled.

"Those flames represent my passion. Despite everything I did to harm my people, I loved the city of Rome. And Rome is something that you never had. You were never a match for me." The servant disappeared, and Nero headed back to where the others began.

 **X**

"You're a Saber, are you not?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, why is a Saber fighting an Archer? You're either incredibly stupid, or incredibly strong."

"It's the latter, I assure you."

"Or so you claim. Perhaps you are strong enough to fight other archers, but I am not in the same league as them!" He grabbed his contraption, holding it like a rocket launcher, and beginning to actually fire rockets. Altera dodged them effortlessly, blowing holes in buildings, but not affecting either of them.

"Are you really okay with the city getting destroyed like this?!" he laughed maniacally.

"Yes. This is what I'm used to after all."

"Oh? You must be a servant with quite a warrior's past."

"Indeed. And you? It doesn't appear to be the case, yet you are clearly a violent person."

"I am a criminal mastermind!" He switched the weapon to bullets instead, utilizing it as a submachine gun.

"Hmph. Sword of Mars." Altera summoned her weapon, a futuristic looking longsword formed by three bands of light, red, green, and blue, and having a red guard near the bottom. She gripped it and swung it upwards effortlessly, releasing a shockwave strong enough to blast all of the bullets away.

"What?!" Archer stood back, clearly distressed by the weapon.

"Ah...I haven't been able to swing this sword in 1600 years...to be away from destruction for so long...it was unbearable…" Her eyes looked up to him, still lifeless.

"That weapon...who are you? Tell me your true name!"

"I am known by many names: Altera, Etzel, the King of Combat, the Scourge of God, and some even referred to me as Divine Punishment itself. But I suppose my most well-known name is Attila."

"Grrghh...no wonder you took me on...for me to face the King of Combat in a one on one fight…"

"Precisely...there is no possible way for you to win. You asked me before if I cared how much destruction we caused to this city. This is my element. I do not think, and I do not feel. Since I was a child, I could do nothing but conquer and massacre. And you are but another of my victims."

"But do you not understand?! Someone as powerful as you...why would you need a Master! You could kill him so easily!" Just from that remark, she swung her sword again, delivering a massive wound across his torso, staggering him backwards.

"To even suggest such a thing is idiotic beyond belief. Since becoming a Servant, no Master has been strong enough to summon me, not even once, until now. And to be able to summon me as well as two other high class servants...it intrigues me, how someone came to be that powerful. I have not experienced having a Master before, and this one seems to be similar to me. We have a similar emptiness in us. I feel as if we have a genuine connection."

"You...feel as if you are connected to someone? What utter nonsense! You said it yourself, you do not think or feel, you are a monster of carnage! You contradict yourself!"

"Do not think that you know who I am or who I can be, fool. You have not lived my life, do not try to warp it."

"Fool…? How dare you...I am Professor James Moriarty! The Napoleon of Crime! I cannot be defeated by a faulted servant such as yourself! Noble Phantasm, liberated! My final formula, the ultimate crime, I shall prove it here...The Dynamics of an Asteroid!"

"What an utterly ridiculous name."

"Silence, wench!" He jumped high into the air and fired a barrage of both missiles and rockets at her. She raised her sword up again and lashed it out, the blades morphing into a whip that knocked them out of the sky or made them explode on impact.

'I have you now!' He grinned, landing in front of her and firing a powerful blue laser from it.

However, once the onslaught was finished, she remained completely untouched, and retracted her blade, impaling him with it since he was still up close.

"B-But...how…?"

"My Star Emblem skill. These marks on my body are from an ancient ritual that was performed on me. By expending mana through any part of my body, I can improve its performance drastically. And my mana is practically limitless thanks to Master. James Moriarty was your name? Forgive me, but I have no earthly idea who you are or who you were supposed to be. Since I laid eyes on you, you were naught but another sacrifice." His body disappeared as well as he lost consciousness and Altera released her sword, it disappearing until she needed it again. She looked down and examined herself.

"Blood...my clothes are stained with it...damn it…" She walked off towards Hayashi.

 **X**

"They have fallen."

"Yes, I can sense it. Even Moriarty, huh...I don't think Nightingale will last very long against all four of them. It is time for us to reveal ourselves. But not in the way that they think…"

 **X**

"Guh…" Berserker jumped back, avoiding more beams of energy that Hayashi fired at her.

"I've backed you into a corner. Well well, and I thought you claimed mages were no match for servants."

"It is true that I underestimated your abilities. You are clearly a powerful mage...although I am not that amazing as far as servants go, either."

"What are you talking about? You have quite an intimidating aura, as far as Berserkers go."

"I'm flattered, but I've told you my true identity already. I'm a nurse, in life and in rebirth. I was not a warrior like your servants are. And so there are plenty of other Berserkers stronger than me. Against them, you wouldn't win."

"Perhaps not. But right now, I'm not up against them, am I?" He stomped his foot onto the ground, cracking it towards her. She jumped up and dodged it, rushing down towards him again, taking out her pistol and firing it. He created a magic barrier that blocked the shots, then cast a gust of wind that sent her flying back into a building.

"Ow...Nursing of Steel…" She stood up, her wounds healing quickly.

"Ah...of course you have a healing skill."

"Indeed. That's not the only thing I have though." She held her arms out to their full span, and a magic circle appeared under her, gathering her power into her hands.

"Treatment start. I will abstain from everything that is harmful and everything that is poisonous. I will stop them with all my strength and guide everybody to happiness! Nightingale Pledge!" Behind her, the giant upper body of a woman in a nurse's uniform manifested, holding a blade up. She raised it above her head and swung downwards, Hayashi gritting his teeth and jumping away.

"You cannot avoid this. Because it is not a physical attack. People called me the Angel of Crimea. A white being of purity in a place of hell. Patients begged me to kill them because of the conditions...do you know what it's like? To see nothing but death, disease and destruction everywhere you look?"

"..."

"I decided that I would do everything in my power to stop seeing these things. My Noble Phantasm is one that does not harm, rather, it seals away the True Names and Noble Phantasms of Servants for a time. Weapons are dropped, and magecraft no longer works. And on allies, it heals their wounds and cures all disease." Hayashi listened before a small smile formed on his lips.

"I see...a nice ability, but I'm afraid there's no fixing me." He smiled sadly at her, using magic to boost his speed and thrusting his palm into her stomach, firing a burst of magic through her body, causing her to get knocked back into a wall again, coughing up blood.

"H-How…?"

"I have a special condition. My magic cannot be taken away no matter what, and my personality cannot be cleared of any negative thoughts."

"B-But why…?" She healed herself, but didn't stand up again.

"It's...a long story that I don't really want to bring up. You and I are pretty similar, you know. We've both seen hell. But the difference between us is that I wasn't able to heal the victims and make things better." He bent down so that he was eye level with her.

"Sorry, love. Maybe next time." he smiled at her, making her blush a bit and look down.

"You are impressive indeed, Mage." The light voice complimented. Hayashi meant to turn around, but was stabbed in the back by a knife.

"Gurgh…!" He fell backwards, startling Florence.

"Nice work." Their leader complimented again.

"I'll heal you…" Florence got onto her knees and prepared to heal his wound, but was stopped, and started shaking, frozen in place. She looked up slowly, seeing one of her master's command seals gone.

"By order of my command seal, you are not to help that man in any way, shape, or form." He smiled at her.

"The blood…" She mumbled, looking down slowly.

"Soon enough, the blood will no longer be an issue, my dear. He will bleed out, and then there will be nothing you can do anyhow."

"You bastard...leave the poor girl alone…" Hayashi growled, rolling over onto his back, glancing at who was standing over him.

The first one was a young man with blonde hair, wearing black boots, dark blue pants, a white dress shirt, black cravat, and a gray vest with yellow trim that was buttoned closed. He also had a dark blue coat over his shoulders, black gloves on his hands, and glasses. He was about 5'7".

The second one was noticeably younger and shorter than any of the other servants he had encountered so far, looking to be a preteen, and only standing at about 4'3". She wore tight black boots and had a black cloak wrapped around her, shielding whatever clothing she was wearing underneath. She wielded two curved silver knives with light purple trim, meaning that she was the one who stabbed him. She also had striking light green eyes, and short white hair that only went down to the top of her neck.

The third one was the leader of the seven himself. He was a handsome young man, in his late 20s, and was also dressed up nicely. He wore black suit pants, a white dress shirt, and a brown vest. He had slicked back blue hair, with a single strand hanging down over his face. He had a special contraption attached to his body, over his stomach. It was seemingly made of either copper or bronze, and had four large buttons on the left side. Attached to it were six mechanical arms; three on each side; with magnifying glasses on the ends. He held a cane sword in his right hand, and wore a long black trench coat over everything.

"Master!" Hayashi looked above him to see Jeanne jump down and bend down to tend to his wounds. Nero and Altera followed soon afterwards from the other directions.

"Jeanne…" Hayashi leaned onto her and whispered something into her ear. She nodded subtly, as the others prepared to fight against the next two servants, Altera taking the cloaked one, and Nero the other.

"You are Emperor Nero, and you are Attila." Their leader smiled at them, then turning to Hayashi's final servant. "And you are Jeanne d'Arc. A pleasure. It's always nice to meet another Ruler."

"You...are a Ruler?" Jeanne asked hesitantly.

"Indeed. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sherlock Holmes, the Greatest Detective to ever live." Hayashi's eyes widened.

"Don't be rude, you two. Introduce yourselves." He commanded the other two.

"Jack the Ripper." The young girl said.

"Henry Jekyll." The blonde man added.

"So...two fictional servants, and one real. Who would have thought that Jack the Ripper was just a little girl? You must have been pretty messed up in the head." Hayashi told her.

"You might think that, but I do not know if I am truly Jack the Ripper. His true identity was never revealed ever, and so it's possible for multiple people to become the Assassin Class Servant known as Jack the Ripper. There were numerous accounts and stories of suspects that could have been him. I am just one of those fabrications come to life." She twirled one of her knives around her finger.

"Henry, release your Noble Phantasm." Sherlock commanded.

"B-But I…!"

"Now." He used another command seal that forced Jekyll to take out a bottle of medicine and ingest it.

"It's here. It's here! It's here, it's here, it's here!" He yelled maniacally, his tone shifting wildly. He took his glasses off, and his eyes turned red from their normal green. He also took his gloves off and pulled out two knives, licking them.

"Praetor, who is this man?!" Nero yelled, holding her sword out in front of her to block any strikes that he was getting ready to inflict.

"His name is Henry Jekyll, better known as Dr. Jekyll. He's a character from a popular book that was published about 130 years ago. He developed a serum that was supposed to flush out all evil personality traits inside of him, but instead only succeeded in amplifying those traits and separating it as a completely different personality, called Edward Hyde. That's who this guy is: someone who enjoys carnage for the sake of carnage."

"I see…Once again, I will have to demonstrate my passion for Rome!" She lit her sword on fire again and rushed towards him as he jumped back, laughing.

"Nero Claudius, you were a far more twisted and sadistic individual than I ever was!" He chuckled, pointing at her.

"That is not who I am."

"Deny it all you want, but you cannot change what has already happened!" he roared, tossing a knife towards her. She deflected it, and he jumped down, running up to her and slashing twice with a new knife, succeeding in cutting her face and splashing a bit of blood on his clothes.

"Well now look at what you did." He unbuttoned his vest, displaying the dark red liquid that had already stained his white shirt.

"I wouldn't worry too much. After all, you'll be going back to the Throne soon enough!" She yelled, launching a wave of flames towards him. He jumped to the side, avoiding them, but looking a bit distressed.

"Master, will you be alright?" Altera asked, glancing behind her.

"Yes. Take care of that Assassin."

"Of course. I need no more than a few minutes." She materialized her sword again and swiped towards her, but didn't connect, due to "Jack" being extremely fast. Assassin dashed across the area, coming up behind Altera and attempting to stab her. She lifted her sword into the air and unleashed a shockwave that blew Jack backwards, injuring her a bit. She turned towards her and unleashed her sword as a whip again, lashing Jack and ripping her cloak apart.

Underneath, she wore a small black vest that was fastened together by small belts around her torso and her neck, and nothing more than a skimpy pair of underwear. Tied around her waist were multiple blade sheathes.

"Alright then...I guess it's time for you to go away." She giggled, looking up at the dark sky.

"Yeah, let's murder it. Hell is starting. We are flames, rain, power...Let there be a slaughter...Maria the Ripper!" She smiled at Altera, tossing her knives into the air and catching them backhanded.

"No...Jeanne, stop her!" Hayashi told his third servant. She quickly prepared to intercept her.

'Damn it, the way her Noble Phantasm feels, I can't let either of them get hit!' Altera's eyes widened as the next thing she saw was Hayashi standing in the way, taking Jack's slashes head on.

"MASTER!" Jeanne screeched.

"Altera, now! HRRRK!" Hayashi felt himself get run through by the Sword of Mars. However, the blade also went into Jack as well. She took it out, and both victims fell backwards, Jeanne catching Hayashi, and Jack hitting the ground.

"Berserker, heal him!" Jeanne yelled to the seemingly traumatized Florence.

"I...can't…" she muttered, still held by her Master's command seal.

"How unfortunate." Sherlock looked down at Jack as her body faded away and went back to the Throne of Heroes.

"What? Jack is down?" Hyde looked over at the others, caught off guard long enough for Nero to appear from behind and impale him as well."

"Gah! No….." His body also disappeared.

"And so we are all that's left…" Holmes looked over at Florence. "Unfortunately, it seems as though you were willing to betray me, and so I'll have to wipe you out myself once I finish off the others."

"I...I cannot stand to see anyone wounded, be them friend or foe! It's just who I am!"

"I see. I suppose I should have expected this. You're not worthy of being a Berserker. I don't think you're worthy of being any class, frankly. But, as your leader, I feel as if it is my responsibility to demonstrate how to deal with your adversaries properly." His magic power started to spike up, and the stitching that was keeping his coat together came apart, making each end flow around him.

"Do you really think I'm going to wait for you to do something?!" Nero rushed up to him, but his mirrors rotated and reflected the moonlight, becoming bright enough to blind her so he could get some distance.

"Let us begin. It's elementary, my friend. Elementary, My Dear." He activated his Noble Phantasm, summoning a bronze sphere, sitting on top of it. It soon opened, releasing a line of enormous magnifying glasses that channeled light onto the forms of the three servants. He interlocked his hands and placed them under his chin, his eyes lighting up as he examined the three Heroic Spirits one by one.

'Hm...I see...Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus...Jeanne d'Arc...and Attila the Hun…Formidable opponents indeed. They weren't fooling about their Master. A mage strong enough to summon those three? That's impressive indeed. Now for weaknesses...those two have certain mental instabilities, but Attila...the only way she'd lose is to fight someone who's stronger than herself...and servants of that caliber are few and far between. I'll have to force Berserker to fight her alongside me…'

He rotated the magnifying glasses on his body and positioned them so that more light reflected, creating a beam that went towards Altera. She held her sword out and absorbed it.

"Absorbing light?"

"The blades have light properties in them, so an attack like that can be stopped easily." She explained, before using it as a whip again, Sherlock dodging it. He fired light beams again while in the air, but this time Jeanne ran forward and deflected them with her flag. Sherlock went down onto the ground again and began to battle Jeanne one on one with his cane sword, seemingly overpowering her.

"You led your people into battle, but you did not fight the battles yourself!" He called her out.

"You're wrong! I fought beside the people!"

"But how often? I trained in both hand to hand combat and swordsmanship, and it seems that I, a lowly detective, is stronger than you, the heroine of the Hundred Years' War."

"Stronger than me? You wish!" she grinned, pushing him back and slashing him with the spike of her flag. She ran up to him and kicked him backwards, making him fall onto the ground. She ran up and stomped on all of his magnifying glasses, shattering them and making them useless. As she was about to finish him off, he jumped up and attacked again with his sword, as the two began fighting again. Berserker looked down at Hayashi again, noticing that he was unconscious and still losing blood.

"You two! Help! He's going to bleed out!" She screamed, prompting Nero and Altera to rush over.

"Imperial Privilege!" Nero tried to use one of her skills to heal him, but it didn't have any effect.

"His body rejected it?! How is that possible?!" she yelled.

"Natural Body!" Altera also tried to use her own healing skill, but it was also ineffective.

"Nothing seems to be working for some reason."

"Grrr...defeat Sherlock! Quickly! Once he's gone, I can heal your master with Nursing of Steel! It will work!"

"Come now, Heroine, why don't you use the sword that's strapped to your side?!" Sherlock asked, continuing to hack away at her flag.

"I will not! That is only as a final resort!" She yelled back, countering him and slicing his leg. His eyes widened as Altera sped behind him and cut apart his invention, both his coat and the golden brace falling to the ground, leaving him with nothing but his sword.

"Aestus Domus Aurea!" Nero used her Noble Phantasm, trapping Ruler inside of it. She swung her sword in a circle, gathering flames onto it.

"Sunlight of spring. Dancing of flowers. The fragrant winds of June brush against your cheeks, Blessing beyond the stars. Open, Nupitae Domus Aurea! Sing, Fax Caelestis!" She sliced past him, then placing her sword tip on the ground, as a giant pillar of fire engulfed Sherlock, defeating him and sending his body back to the Throne of Heroes.

Florence felt herself released from bondage and scrambled onto her knees, preparing to treat Hayashi.

 **X**

The last thing he heard was Fax Caelestis. The next thing he heard was a choir singing Ode to Joy.

"Nngh...Nero?" He opened his eyes slowly, finding the Red Saber sitting to his right, scrolling through his phone.

"Ah, Praetor! I'm so glad you're awake!" She leaned over and hugged him tightly.

"Ow...Nero, you're squeezing too hard…"

"Oh! Forgive me!" She backed away, blushing and grinning.

"What...happened?"

"You blacked out from your wounds...we didn't know if you would make it, but thanks to Berserker, you were healed."

"Berserker? Florence is still here?"

"Yes. She formed a contract with you right after her previous master was sent back to the Throne."

"I see. I'm surprised her treatment worked. She really is incredible…"

"Yes, we wanted to discuss that with you later…"

"Yes, it would be smart to...were you listening to Beethoven's 9th?"

"Indeed! Florence is well versed in music, and walked me through all of the centuries of it that I missed. I've been listening to this kind for a few hours now. It's called Classical, right? These composers are so incredible! This Ludwig von Beethoven...he must have been from Rome, right?"

"Nero...listen to his name. It's German. He was from Germany."

"What?! But surely the others-! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?!"

"Austrian."

"Franz Joseph Haydn?!"

"Also Austrian."

"George Frideric Handel?!"

"German, then British. Trust me, Nero, most famous Classical composers were either based in Vienna or London."

"Master! You're awake!" Jeanne cried happily, running in and also hugging him, followed by Altera and Florence.

"So you are not dead after all." Altera said, smiling a bit.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Hayashi rolled his eyes. He looked over at Florence, who smiled at him.

"Thank you, Florence."

"I was just doing my job. I despise warfare. I hope you don't mind that I formed a contract with you of my own accord. I had to in order to stay in this world and heal you."

"No, I don't mind. Not at all. I think I'm going to keep you here, too. It would be smart, considering you're probably the only person other than myself that can successfully heal me."

"Yes, about that...we wanted to discuss that, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, it would be good for you to know, too, I guess. Well, it would have been 3 years ago now. At the end of the last Holy Grail War, Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was absorbed into the Holy Grail and became its new core. Not too long after that, I summoned a servant for a mission that the Association had me on. But the servant I summoned was Avenger, Angra Mainyu, the darkness of the Grail. For a short time, we seemed to work well together, but in the end, he just used me, and took over my body, changing me into an Avenger class servant temporarily. I lost control of my mind and my reason, and all I could do was rampage. I killed my teammates and almost 300 people, including other Clock Tower Mages, and my own family. Finally, the Vice-Director was able to separate me from him, and banished him back to the Throne, but I haven't summoned a servant since then. I've been on a leave of absence until now."

"That's awful…" Jeanne muttered sadly.

Altera looked down, remembering that she used to do the same thing, in a sense.

"Not everything is back to normal, though. A bit of his powers stayed within me, so the darkness will reject any outside magic done to me unless it's a type that ignores other already active effects, like your Nursing skill. That's why those other two didn't work."

"I see…" She rubbed her head.

"So I think keeping you here with us is the best thing to do, Florence. We could use a healer, and you're the only one that would work if something like this happened to me again."

"Yes...very well then. Master." She smiled at him.

"Alright, until we get another update from my boss, I'll just have to recover here."

"Yes, that would be wise. Actually, Jeanne, do you mind going out to the store and getting some more soap? We're out."

"No, of course not. I'll go now." She stood up and changed back into her casual clothes. Hayashi gave her some money and she went on her way.

 **X**

"You keep watching her. It's creepy."

"I am allowed to do what I want."

"You're into her, aren't you?!" a female voice giggled.

"You cannot deny that she is beautiful. And she intrigues me. She is a Ruler class, and a great hero of war, is she not? She dislikes battle, yet when fighting the good detective, she seemed excited. I would like to spend time with her and learn more about her."

"Well how are you gonna do that? You can't just waltz up and knock on her door and ask her out."

"I have a plan. We just have to wait until later tonight."

"I thought you didn't like nighttime because Ra isn't watching over you."

"Ra is always watching over me. I am the King of Kings, and the most powerful servant in existence since Gilgamesh disappeared that time ago. Come, Okita. We shouldn't linger around here any longer."

 **End.**

 **So, originally, I was going to do romance between Hayashi and the servants, but now, I think I'm going to do it between servants instead. The main pairing of this story will be Jeanne and the man above, who I'm sure you'll be able to figure out his identity if you are familiar with the franchise. What did you think so far?**


	2. Part 1: Rome

**Songs**

 **Jeanne's Dream: Hathor (Derek and Brandon Fiechter)**

 **Explaining Italy's History: Head in the Clouds (Bleach OST)**

 **Colosseum Reality Marble: Army of the King (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Nero vs. Romulus: Envy Revealed (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Nero's Self-Doubt & Resolution: Never Meant to Belong (Bleach OST)**

 **Berserk Nero: Hollow Ichigo (Bleach OST)**

 **Emperor Nero vs. King Romulus: Lord of a Dead Empire (Fire Emblem Echoes Shadows of Valentia OST)**

 **Caesar vs. Nobunaga: Bunta (Naruto OST)**

 **Three Thousand Worlds: Rising Dragon (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Demon King of the Sixth Heaven: Crimson Flames (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Discussing Beliefs: Zelgius the Brave (Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn OST)**

 **Altera vs. Iskandar: A Grasping Truth (Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn OST)**

 **Ionioi Hetairoi: Army of the King (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Teardrop Photon Ray and Altera's Summoning: The World is Tumbling Down (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Armies Standoff: On the Battlefield (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Armies Clash: This Day and Never Again (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Altera vs. Alexander: You Are My King (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Kato vs. Da Vinci: Screaming God (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Noble Phantasms: Ultimate Secrets (Naruto OST)**

 **Hayashi and Caligula: Deacons of the Deep (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Avenger Hayashi vs. Everybody: Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Ozymandias Kills Tesla: Golden Scarabs (Derek and Brandon Fiechter)**

 **Hayashi and Nero: Take Care Kid (Black Mass Soundtrack)**

It was hot. And dry. Why was it so hot and dry? They lived in London, it should be anything but that! Jeanne opened her eyes slowly to find the strangest thing. A city of sand. Why?! Looking around, people were dressed very oddly, nothing like France. Something about them seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, since she had never been outside of France during her lifetime. Which was understandable considering that she was merely a country girl until she was 16, then fought in a war for three years until she was executed at 19.

"You look lost, Miss. Perhaps I could help you." A deep and rugged voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw a handsome man standing above her, smiling.

He was 5'8", so a half a foot taller than her. His skin was very tanned, since he lived in a desert region of the world, and wore a rather fancy looking outfit. He wore brown pants that were open towards the bottom of his legs, and brown and gold sandals with a few blue jewels decorating them. On his waist was golden armor, with a light blue pattern etched into it. Two golden bands were also wrapped around his mid-section. He wore a sleeveless skin tight black shirt and a white cape wrapped around him. His forearms and hands had golden and blue armor on them as well. Around his neck was a necklace of golden and blue jewels, and hanging from his ears were golden earrings with an ankh at the end. He had medium length dark brown hair, and striking golden eyes that were both warm and powerful at the same time.

"O-Oh, yes. Could you? I'm not sure where I am…"

"Of course, my dear. Just follow me." He began walking into the city, and Jeanne blushed a bit.

'What a handsome man…' What?! She couldn't believe that she was thinking about him that way! She had never been one for romance before, but even she couldn't deny that he was good-looking. She followed him through the city, finding many different shops, buildings, and people. Such a cultured place.

"Um...sir…? Do you mind if I ask where we are?"

"Oh, of course. This is Memphis, Egypt."

Egypt?! What the hell was she doing here?! Clearly, this was a dream. It had to be a dream. Where was her Master and the others?

She stopped and looked down at herself before trying to pinch her arm.

"Ow!" She closed her eyes, but upon opening them again, nothing had changed, she was still in the middle of the market. Looking back up, her guide stared her down, now with a more serious face.

"A simple pinch will not get you out of here, I assure you." Her eyes widened. What did he know about this?

"I can see it on your face, you have no idea what's going on. Don't worry, I'll explain everything. Just keep following me." He smiled again, this time taking her by the hand and leading her through the main road. Jeanne couldn't stop her cheeks from being red, as his hand warmed hers, even though it was already 85 degrees.

You know, it really looked like they were walking towards the city's palace. And now they were walking up to the entrance. And the guards were letting them through and bowing to them! He led her upstairs and out onto the balcony, overlooking the whole city.

"Wow…it's breathtaking…" she gasped.

"It is, isn't it?" He let go of her hand and leaned on the wall, standing next to her. "You must be overheated in that armor. Here." He snapped his fingers and her regular outfit was replaced with an exotic white dress with a golden sash, a light blue veil, and a golden necklace.

"Uh...thanks…" she squeaked.

"You're welcome. Now then, I suppose I owe you an explanation. This is not real. Right now, you're asleep in your Master's home, as you probably think. This is a dream that I'm projecting into your subconscious using magecraft."

"Is that even possible?" 

"It is when you're well-versed in its principles. I took you here, to my kingdom, my empire, to propose something to you. An arrangement of sorts."

"And that would be…?"

"My Master wants your Master, and I want you."

"Y-You what?!" she squealed, being unable to control her blush.

"I find myself attracted to you. I watched you fight from afar the other night against the detective and his entourage. You were quite impressive."

"Well...thank you, but I'm not looking for a relationship while I'm here…"

"And it's my job to change your mind about that. The detective, he's only the first of us. Our army consists of eight groups of Heroic Spirits, each led by one far stronger than the rest. Sherlock Holmes is the first of the leaders. I am also one of them. I will give you inside information on our forces through these dreams, and perhaps in the modern day a few times, but on the condition that you do not tell your Master. If you do, I'll defeat all of you, and bring him to my Master and take you by force. I really hope it doesn't come to that."

"But...if you're one of the leaders of these servants, I'm going to end up fighting you anyways!"

"But I cannot disobey my Master. He wants you to hand him over, and then he'll send all of the servants he summoned back. But I'm giving you a chance, a different option. I'm interested in seeing what you all are capable of. You have a bit of a solemness about you when you are in battle, like you don't like it. Yet when you fought against the detective, there was an air of excitement around you, like you were fighting for the thrill of it."

"What?"

"You may deny it, and may not even be aware of it yourself, but you and I are rather similar in nature." She turned back to the scenery of the city, sighing.

"What do I need to do?"

"You don't need to do anything. Just don't mention anything about me to your allies, and I'll take care of the rest."

"...Very well." They turned back towards each other. Jeanne couldn't deny that he was a great-looking guy. She found herself continuously staring either into his eyes, or at his six-pack.

'No! Get those thoughts out of your head, Jeanne! This is for Master!' She shook her head, trying to get what was left of her blush off of her face.

"Excellent. I'm afraid I never caught your name before, Ruler."

"Jeanne. Jeanne d'Arc."

"Mm. French? I'm still trying to recall the modern day countries of this world."

"Yes. If you are from Egypt, then you must have been an ancient pharaoh, were you not?"

"Quite astute. Yes. I am Ozymandias, the King of Kings. It was nice to spend this time together." He grinned at her before a golden and blue staff materialized in his hand, and he tapped it on the ground, collapsing the world and Jeanne's dream.

The next thing she knew, she opened her eyes to her bed in the guest room of Hayashi's house.

"Ozymandias…" She whispered his name before going back to sleep.

 **X**

The next time she awoke, things seemed normal again. The sunrays trickled through the window and onto her face, making her eyes flutter open and closed. She yawned, getting up and looking around the room, finding Altera gone from her couch. Slowly getting up, she grabbed a towel and went into the bathroom, starting up the shower.

"Altera, is Jeanne still asleep?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Could you go check on her?" She stood up from the kitchen table, where Nero and Hayashi were sitting. Florence was cooking them breakfast.

"Jeanne?" she asked, knocking on the door.

"Hm?" She responded from within.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm bathing. Why?"

"Master wanted to know if you were awake yet."

"I'll be down shortly."

"Very well." Jeanne listened to her footsteps get farther away before looking back down.

"Did that dream really happen? He said it was magecraft, but if it was just a dream…" She muttered to herself, before sighing and beginning to wash her body.

"I suppose I'll just have to wait and see if he contacts me again." Stepping out of the shower, she dried off before putting on her usual clothes.

"Ah, there you are." Hayashi smiled at her as she walked into the kitchen, seeing the others sitting at the table.

"Good morning, Master." She smiled back.

"Good morning, Jeanne. Florence made pancakes. Have some."

"Thank you." She sat down, and began eating them. Other than a few comments about how Florence was an incredible cook, breakfast was rather quiet. Once they finished, Hayashi informed them of their next assignment.

"Guys, my boss gave me a new location that servants appeared at. There's six of them in Rome."

"UMUUUUU!" Nero stood up and cheered, making the others cover their ears.

"Yes, we're all very happy for you, Empress." Altera responded sarcastically.

"Nero, you do realize that we're only going to be there for a day or two, right? We don't have nearly enough time to do everything." Hayashi explained.

"Umu, but just getting to see it again will be wonderful. Tell me, Praetor, who is the leader of Italia currently?"

"It's Pope Francis and Sergio Mattarella."

"Ah, the Pope is still in existence? And what position does the other hold?"

"He's the President."

"President? What does that mean?"

"The President is the Head of State. I guess he's like the Ancient Roman Senate in a single person. Italy has been a democratic republic since 1946."

"I see...I have a lot to learn about what happened to my country, I suppose."

"You have no idea. Italy has a ridiculously long history. But first, before we go, I think it would be smart to summon another servant or two, hopefully of a different class."

"How come?" Florence asked. "You have four of us already."

"That's true, but two of you are Sabers, which kind of limits who you can go up against. Granted, Altera was strong enough to defeat Moriarty last night, but I think that it would still be better for us. After all, your forces consisted of two Casters, an Archer, you, a Berserker, two Assassins, and a Ruler. That's a much more diverse team than us, two sabers, a Ruler, and a Berserker. Plus, the more, the merrier, right?" He stood up and went outside, followed by his servants. Drawing two summoning circles on the ground, he began the ritual and performed his own unique chant again, and two new heroic spirits appeared.

The first was a rather short woman, only standing at 4'9". She wore a black military uniform, complete with a cap, and gold colored boots, though they were clearly not made from gold. A sword was strapped to her side, and she had a red cloak tied around her, along with a large gold emblem resembling the sun on her cap. She had long brown hair and red eyes.

The other one was taller, about 5'4". She was dressed as a shinobi, wearing maroon pants with small spikes on them, and black boots. She also wore skin tight black and maroon armor, and a long red scarf wrapped around her neck. She had long black hair that was tied up in a ponytail by a maroon band, and had striking golden eyes.

"You summoned me?" The first asked.

"Yes. I'm Hayashi Tsukamoto. I need your help. What is your class and your true name?"

"I'm called Demon Archer, true name Oda Nobunaga!" She grinned.

'Oh, great, another nutcase.' Hayashi facepalmed.

"And you?" He asked the other one.

"Assassin, Katō Danzō."

"Oh hey, that's kind of cool." He commented.

"Danzō? I've heard of you." Archer turned to her.

"And everyone has heard of you."

"Why of course they have! Umu!"

"Hey, that's my thing!" Nero argued, the two locking eyes.

"And who are you to steal my speech quirks?!" Oda yelled.

"Steal yours?! You stole mine! I did it first! I am Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus!"

"What is wrong with you, you sick twisted person?!" She backed away quickly, her eyes widened.

"Don't worry, this is her before her 'downfall.'" Hayashi explained.

"Even I wasn't as bad as her…" she muttered under her breath.

"Alright, that's enough. The less said about Nero's life, the better. I'm going to brief you two on the situation quickly before we depart. The Holy Grail has been summoning servants like yourself across half the world, and I've been tasked with eliminating them."

"How come? What are they doing wrong?" Katō asked.

"Well, nothing. But the longer servants stay in this world, the more of a chance that space will get ripped apart by their magic power. Gilgamesh was able to bypass this because he was granted a physical body by the grail, but this time, they are merely summoned as spirits. However, something I noticed with the first group we dealt with, is that they're being summoned with the mindset to want to stay here. In addition, some of them were more violent than their historic reputations. Sherlock was known as a pretty nice guy, but he considered killing Florence, his own teammate, himself just because she wasn't doing well against me. I'm almost nervous about some of the more evil people having their hate enhanced. It's lucky that you three are under my watch." Hayashi looked at Oda, Atilla, and Nero.

"In any case, we should get going. The association will have a jet prepared for us already. It'll take 3 and a half hours to get there. We may not be back here for a while though, so be prepared."

 **X**

"Are you all ready to go? Lorelei asked, meeting Hayashi and his band of servants.

"Yeah. Here, let me introduce you." He stepped to the side and motioned to the slew of female Heroic Spirits.

"Nero, Attila the Hun, Jeanne d'Arc, Florence Nightingale, Oda Nobunaga, and Kato Danzo."

"Nice to meet you all. Thank you for doing this." She whispered over to Hayashi.

"How are you dealing with Nero and Attila?"

"They're not as bad as they seem." He whispered back.

"Very well." She cleared her throat. "We've detected six servants in Rome this time, and it seems that they are more powerful and more well known than your first opponents, given the size of their magic power. I wish you all luck, but I'm sure you'll be fine, since you all are powerful." She nodded to them before motioning to the jet.

"One of our guards will fly you there. It will be about 3 ½ hours."

"Great. Let's get going, guys." Hayashi walked up the stairs into the plane, followed by the others.

It was actually fairly big for a private jet, with about 16 seats on it. He sat next to Nero, Altera sat next to Florence, and Oda sat next to Kato. Jeanne chose to sit in the back of the plane by herself.

"Something up?" Hayashi asked her.

"N-No, I'm just tired, and wanted to get some more sleep, if I could."

"Alright. We'll try to keep it down."

"Thanks." She smiled back, before looking out the window solemnly. They all watched excitedly as they took off and flew, but Jeanne had her mind stuck on Ozymandias. She agreed to not tell Hayashi anything about him, and he would let them live, but was that really the right choice? Despite knowing that he was a Heroic Spirit, he suppressed his magic power to nothing, and Jeanne didn't know just how strong he was. She knew he was an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, but that was about it. Other than his name, the only thing he told her was that he was looking for a relationship with her, and that he was called...the King of Kings. There were few Heroic Spirits who even had the title of king, and to be called such...his power must be astronomical. Not every Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes knew each other, but Jeanne at least knew that there were only a few select spirits who were referred to as kings:

Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knights.

Her Alter Form, the King of Storms.

Iskandar, also known as Alexander the Great, the King of Conquerors.

Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, the most powerful servant.

Attila, the King of Combat.

Romulus, the King of Nation Building.

Solomon, the King of Magic.

Charles Babbage, the King of Steam.

Thomas Edison, the King of Inventors.

Sigurd, the King of Noble Warriors.

Charlie Chaplin, the King of Comedy.

And now apparently, Ozymandias, the King of Kings. How had she never heard of him before now? She wouldn't get anywhere thinking about things. She'd have to wait until next time she talked to him. But until then…

 **X**

"Jeanne. Hey, wake up." The next thing she knew was that Hayashi was shaking her shoulder lightly.

"Mm? Ah, Master! Wh-What happened?!" she asked, a little embarrassed.

"You fell asleep. We're here. Come on, it's time to go."

"Oh. Very well. Sorry for falling asleep."

"It's no worry, you did exactly what you wanted to do in the first place, right?"

"I-I suppose." She followed him out, and they maneuvered through the airport, and taking a taxi to their hotel.

"Ah, I missed the atmosphere here! But now it seems so much bigger than before!" Nero exclaimed.

"Well the city itself is more populated, but the Roman Empire is long gone. Why don't I tell you about it while we wait for locations on the other servants?"

"Umu! Thank you, Praetor!" She said, practically tackling him.

"Yeah, yeah. By the way, you two...do you have modern day clothes? No one wears military uniforms and ninja armor like that anymore, unless you're doing an all in cosplay."

"Yeah, I can cover that." Oda's clothes disappeared and were replaced by a black button down shirt, black leggings, black shoes, and a red coat that she carried over her shoulder. Her cap was gone as well, so she didn't wear anything on her head.

"Will this do, Master?" Kato's clothes were replaced with black leggings and a maroon blouse, and with a lighter red scarf wrapped around her neck. Her ponytail was undone, leaving her hair down.

"Yeah, that's perfect. Alright, we'll be staying in this room." He inserted the key card into the door slot, and opened it, coming into a deluxe suite meant for multiple people. A luxurious bathroom, a large TV and living area, and two large bedrooms as well.

"Ahh...sometimes it pays to be a high-ranking member of the Clock Tower." he sighed.

"Bed!" Nero ran through, going straight into one of the bedrooms.

"Well, as Nero's already doing...I guess make yourselves at home guys. We'll hang out here until we get some more info on those other servants." They got to unpacking their things, and then all sat together in the living room, some of them browsing the TV channels, and Nero, Jeanne, and Altera listening to Hayashi talk about Rome, pulling up a few articles on his laptop.

"Alright, the first signs of civilization in Italy were at Monte Poggiolo, where artifacts were found that date to about 850,000 years ago. In the Copper and Bronze Ages, Indo-Europeans migrated to the land. In the late Bronze Age, the Proto-Villanovan cultures came over. Then from there, it was just a bunch of small Iron Age cultures, until the Etruscan Civilization flourished after 800 BC."

"Why are you skipping around?! Anything regarding Italia should be included, for it is the greatest civilization to ever exist!" Nero started pulling Hayashi's hair.

"It's too long to go through everything! And plus, there's going to be gaps! That far back in history wasn't documented, and it all depends on the remains that archaeologists find!" He snapped back. She leaned over, reading along with him.

"Eventually, after a few wars and famines, the Etruscans were annexed to Rome, which was more powerful. Then a bunch of Greeks left, again for various reasons, and came over to settle in Italy. From there, Rome, which was now the most powerful settlement in the country, was founded as a Kingdom, and seven kings ruled it, with Romulus being the founder and first one."

"Indeed! The great hero who built our beloved nation!"

"He didn't 'build the nation', he re-founded Rome as a Kingdom."

"He did build the nation! Not literally speaking, I meant metaphorically! He turned Rome into the great place it is today!"

"But the Kingdom only lasted for 243 years before it was changed to the Republic. Lucius Junius Brutus overthrew Tarquin the Proud, the final king of the Roman Kingdom. They renamed themselves as the Roman Republic and decided to have everything run by a legislature instead of a monarch. Which, considering how your reign went, I'm guessing wasn't too successful anyways." He looked back at Nero.

"Nope."

"I didn't think so. But for a few hundred years, they did pretty well for themselves, and conquered and defeated practically every army that opposed them. In the mid-1st Century BC, there was political unrest until Julius Caesar showed up. He joined up with the two most powerful men in Rome, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Pompey. Crassus became richer than he already was, Pompey exerted more power over the Senate, and Caesar took control of the military. But in 53 BC, Crassus died, and since he was the mediator between Caesar and Pompey, things escalated quickly in a grab for power. Since Caesar was victorious in the Gallic Wars, Pompey knew he'd be a threat, and tried to rid him of his armies legally. But Caesar said fuck that, I'm not waiting for you to do that, and went ahead and invaded Rome, killing Pompey quickly, and becoming Dictator."

"Wow...you really paint a picture…" Oda looked at him with a blank expression.

"And, as everyone who's ever lived knows, he was assassinated by Roman Senators because they thought that he would try to overthrow them. And, they couldn't reinstate the Republic. Then everything spun out of control, and the Second Triumvirate was formed, consisting of Mark Antony, a general and politician, Octavian, Caesar's adopted son, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Caesar's best friend. Lepidus betrayed Octavian and was forced to retire in 36 BC, and Antony went to live in Egypt with Cleopatra, who, as everyone also knows, was his lover. Doing this was considered treason, since he was dating the queen of a foreign power, and adopting a Hellenistic lifestyle. He remained in Egypt, and so Octavian went to war with him, and annihilated his forces. Both he and Cleopatra committed suicide, and he was left the sole ruler of Rome. He took the name Augustus, and the Roman Empire was established, and Egypt was annexed to it, and basically every Emperor was named after him, including yourself." He pointed to Nero, who smiled and nodded.

"Umu!"

"Alright, then there's stuff about Tiberius sentencing Jesus to death, your bat-shit crazy uncle, you, and then more struggles to become Emperor, and then...ah, here we go. After the death of Emperor Theodosius I, Constantine moved to Constantinople and established another capital there, and invited any citizens who wanted to become Christian to join him, and the empire was split in half, into the Western and Eastern Empires. The Western one collapsed pretty quickly, from political crises, to a destroyed economy, to barbarian invasions, and the final Western Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by Odoacer in 476. The Western Empire was split apart into several barbarian kingdoms, and wasn't reunified for another millenium. The Eastern one, renamed the Byzantine Empire, flourished until the 1400s, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. Then it was a pretty standard Middle Ages story, with knights and horses and castles and whatnot, you know, Black Death and all that shit, and then the Renaissance! Hooray everybody, lots of learning, happiness, flourishing, yada yada yada. Then some minor stuff until Italy once again became part of the French Empire under Napoleon, until he was banished. Twice. In 1814, the country was finally united as its own nation again, and was called the Kingdom of Italy. Things went relatively well until the early 20s, when Benito Mussolini took control of Italy and turned it into a Fascist nation, fighting with the Axis Powers in World War 2, and sparking a series of Civil Wars at the same time. After the war, the country was left divided and with a destroyed economy, and so the last king decided to take a vote on whether or not to remain a monarchy or become a republic, in order to avoid another civil war. It was decided to become a democratic republic, and things have steadily gotten better from there, becoming a global power again today." He sighed, closing his computer and leaning back, looking at Nero.

"Umu...it seems as though we have a history of thriving for a long time and then dissolving quite rapidly…"

"Yeah...sorry…"

"No...it's alright, thank you for telling me."

"...Master...what happened to me?" Altera asked suddenly.

"Let's see...Emperor Theodosius II, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire during your reign as King, agreed to pay you 700 pounds periodically, so that you wouldn't attack Constantinople. Once he died, the new emperor, Marcian, ceased the payments, and you went back to your palace, planning to re-strike at Constantinople to get back at the Emperor and loot the city. But you died before such a campaign was ever carried out."

"I see...I can't recall exactly how I died."

"Well, apparently no one else can either. There's a few different accounts. The first one says that you were at a feast, celebrating your second marriage, when you suffered a massive nosebleed and choked to death. The second is that while drinking, you succumbed to internal bleeding due to dilated veins in your esophagus that ruptured. The last one is that Marcian conspired with a God and killed you in your sleep, but apparently that one is somewhat discredited. Your sons mucked everything up and your empire quickly collapsed afterwards."

"What a pathetic way to go…" she looked up at the ceiling.

"Do you three remember how you died?" Hayashi asked Jeanne and the two newcomers. He had already told Nero about her death when she was summoned.

"Indeed. All too well." Jeanne said sadly.

"Me as well. My own subordinate turned on me and I ended up committing Seppuku." Oda replied.

"Decapitated by Takeda Shingen's men." Kato added.

"I guess most Heroic Spirits suffer terrible fates, don't they?" Hayashi sighed. Just then, he got a text, and read it.

"I guess we should have seen this coming. There's six servants at the colosseum."

"Then let's get going!" Nero jumped up.

"Hold on a minute. This time won't be as easy. It's broad daylight, and it's an international wonder of the world, open to the public. There's going to be tourists visiting and taking pictures, and we can't risk them seeing us. Magic is a dangerous study, and it should not be available for everyone, and so it should be hidden from most."

"Umu...as much as I want to, I have to agree with you…"

"13 years ago, during the Fourth Holy Grail War, Caster summoned and fused with an enormous monster, and fought the other servants on the river. Their battle caused quite a disturbance, as the majority of the city ended up seeing it, which was not good. Of course, in the end, Gilgamesh and his master, Kirei Kotomine, won, and the grail granted their wish and destroyed the entire city, sending it up in flames, with only a single survivor, who didn't remember anything. But this is a different situation. These servants do not have a human master, they were summoned by the grail, and so they most likely will not have their wishes granted, no matter what they are. If people end up seeing these fights, then it will not go well for the Association."

"So then do you want to wait until the evening, Master?" Jeanne asked.

"No, they could be gone by then. It's best we go now. Are you all prepared?" They nodded.

"Then let's not waste any time."

 **X**

Arriving at the entrance to the colosseum, there were dozens of tourists that were walking around the outside, as well as paying at the entrance to get through.

"Oh, that's right...how much is it to get in?"

"It looks like 12 euros per person." Florence pointed out a sign.

"There's seven of us, so it's 84 euros for all of us to get in. That's a lot…"

"Do you think we could sneak in somehow, Master?" Nero asked. "What if I demand for our group to be let in for free because I was the Emperor at one point."

"They wouldn't believe you, and even if they did, they'd either panic or try to kill you." He shot down her idea quickly, making her fall over in disappointment.

"I guess I'll just have to pay it. After all, we need to get in there, even if it's only for an hour or two."

"Excuse me, sir?" A young man wearing a Mage's Association uniform asked.

"Yes?"

"You are Lord Hayashi Tsukamoto, correct? The Vice-Director has made accomodations for you to get into the Colosseum for free."

"Oh. Well that's convenient."

"Yes, sir. I'm sure you haven't forgotten that a branch of the Association is here in Rome?"

"N-No, of course I didn't."

"You did, didn't you?" Nobunaga whispered into his ear.

"Hey, I've been preoccupied with having to take care of all of you. I'm allowed to forget something." He whispered back.

"Right this way, sir." He led them through a side entrance where no one was waiting.

"Thanks for making things easier for us."

"Of course, sir." Their attendant left. Walking in, they looked around, taking in the view of the enormous ancient arena.

"Wow...this is amazing…" Hayashi breathed.

"Umu…" Nero agreed.

"Master, I do not see any servants here." Altera looked around.

"What are you looking for?" he responded.

"Well, since they are from the past, they must be wearing something exotic and strange, right?"

"Normally yes, but like I said, this is a public place, and it's the middle of the day, so they probably don't want to stand out. We'll have to do it by sensing magic power."

"Master, I can sense six of them up there. Your superior was right." She pointed up to a higher level, where six people were sittingi.

"Then let's go." Going up a level, they came across multiple servants, all wearing casual clothing.

"Ah, come, come! Join us and see the greatest view in the city!" One of them, a redhead, called out.

The first one was pretty fat, wearing a simple pants and red t shirt combo. He had brown spiky hair.

The second had skin that was a bit darker, and wore blue shorts and a yellow sports shirt, trying to show off his bodybuilder physique. He had extremely short brown hair, and almost seemed to be bald.

The third wore a similar outfit, but with a yellow and red color scheme, and stood apart from the others, looking out from one of the windows, very distant from inside the actual colosseum. He had short but spiky blue hair.

The fourth had a similar muscular physique and wore a white t-shirt with jeans. He had red hair and a beard.

"You...Iskandar."

"Oh? You know of me?" he grinned.

"Yes. I know of the Fourth Holy Grail War and the servants involved in it."

The fifth servant was a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, wearing jeans and a light purple blouse.

The sixth and final one, who sat above the rest of them, wore a purple plaid shirt and dark pants. He had long cobalt blue hair.

"I assume you know why we're here?" Hayashi asked the last one.

"You are here to send us home, are you? Why? What are we doing wrong?"

"Well, nothing...but servants are not meant to stay in this world. You exist now because of magecraft, and the more of you there are, the more likely something will go wrong."

"...So you are basing your motivations on conjecture. On events that may happen rather than will happen."

"That's…"

"You modern day mages are all the same. And all we're doing here is sightseeing, after all."

"But don't you find it strange that you're being summoned for no particular reason? Without a Holy Grail War?"

"We do not question our master. He summoned us for a purpose, I assure you. It's just not a War."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No. It is not for me to say."

"So it seems we're at a stalemate. I need to stop you for reasons that can't be explained, and you need to stop me for reasons that can't be explained. Where do we go from here?"

"We'll have to prove who's in the right. If we meet you here and let you go without a struggle, we'll be reprimanded. Though, if you're as smart as I hope you are, you already know that these people could be a problem."

"Oh, I know. So, if you don't mind, let's wait until they're gone."

"Oh, I have a better idea. Berserker." He smiled and nodded to the distant servant who pulled out a small accessory.

"A reality marble?" Hayashi asked.

"Indeed. A special kind that remains intact until the one who activated it dies." Berserker tossed it over to his leader, and he then crushed it, as the colosseum began to change, bringing them back to when it was fully built, and seemingly brand new. Ancient Roman citizens filled the spectator seats, roaring for a good fight. They now appeared in the arena instead of at the top, facing each other.

"Welcome, to the Flavian Amphitheatre! Or, as it's more commonly known...the Roman Colosseum." He smiled at them, and Hayashi's team transformed back into their servant attire. The enemy servants did the same.

The first one, the fat one, now wore a roman military outfit, wearing gold shoes, a white dress shirt and pink tie, white toga, and a red suit over it, which had a white fur collar, and a crimson cape. Worn over his suit was a golden armor piece, a chest plate. He had a laurel wreath in his hair, and had a large beige piece of armor over his left arm. In his right hand was a golden and silver ornate sword, with roman designs engraved in blue, and a name engraved in latin along the length of the blade.

"Crocea Mors."

"Oh, you read latin? Indeed, that is the name of my blade. Saber class, Gaius Julius Caesar." He introduced himself.

The second, the muscular one, wore ancient roman black and gold thin armor that left his arms, stomach, and legs bare. He wore matching golden and black boots, and a golden crown with a red spike on his head. An elegant red cape was attached to the back of his armor. He wielded a massive red spear.

"Lancer, Romulus." He grinned.

The third one, the Berserker that held the reality marble, wore gold and black sandals, black and gold royal armor, and gold earrings. He wore black armbands with pure golden armor over them, and had a long red cape that was tattered at the end attached to his back, but also wrapped around his front, in an x shape.

"Berserker….Caligula…...Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus….." He stammered out before grabbing his head, gritting his teeth and growling.

The fourth, Iskandar, wore his usual maroon and crimson armor with gold trim, his sword strapped to his side, and his trademark crimson cape with fur collar wrapped around him.

"Rider, Iskandar, King of Conquerors!"

The fifth one, the woman, wore blue tights, a red dress, blue gloves, and thigh high blue boots. She wore a blue cape with teal tassels on the ends, a red veil over her hair, and golden heels. On her left hand was a black and gold gauntlet of some sort, adorned with green jewels on the knuckles. Held in that gauntlet was a red, blue and gold staff with a rotating pink prism in the middle, and a robotic phoenix made of gold sat on her right shoulder. Unlike the others, who seemed either arrogant or, in Caligula's case, utterly insane, she still had a pleasant disposition about her.

"Caster, Leonardo da Vinci."

The sixth, their leader, wore a much more modern outfit, representative of the past few hundred years or so. He wore white shoes, purple pants, and a purple suit with a white collar. On the right side of his chest was a golden contraption, strapped to his body, giving off an electric current. He wore white gloves and a dark purple coat with a white collar, and on his right hand was a golden mechanical gauntlet that channeled the electricity from his chest badge.

"Archer, Nikola Tesla. So then, who would like to fight first?"

"I will!" Nero stepped forward. "Uncle!" She pointed towards Berserker, who slowly locked his blood red eyes with her glistening green ones.

"Nero, no. I'll fight him." Hayashi said.

"Master, with all due respect-!" She froze when Hayashi glared at her.

"I said no." He ordered.

"Then I will take her on." Romulus stepped forward. The others went off into their seats, as well as Hayashi's team.

"Master, why didn't you let me fight him?!" Nero asked.

"Because you have a personal relationship with him. You would have held back, and he would not do the same. Don't worry, I know you can do it, Nero. But I don't want you to feel guilty over fighting your own uncle. Good luck." He walked away.

"Umu." She turned back to Romulus, summoning her sword.

"Tell me, what is your true name?" He asked, preparing a battle stance.

"Nero. Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. I am the fifth emperor of the glorious Roman Empire."

"I see. Then you are my child. As I understand, my kingdom grew to become a Republic, and then an Empire. If you were part of that growth, Nero Claudius, then I thank you, and regret that we have to fight."

"I do as well, your majesty." she looked at him sadly.

"Romulus!" Tesla called out from the stands. He glanced towards him.

"Do not be deceived by this girl! She was a tyrant similar to Caligula, perhaps even worse!"

"What?"

"Why, you…!" Nero glared up at him, launching a wave of flames at them. Caesar intercepted it and sliced through it with his sword.

"Master Archer, that does not matter to me. She is a leader of Roma, and so she has my utmost respect, no matter how she turned out."

"...Thank you, your majesty."

"Come then, Nero Claudius, and show me what kind of strength to possess! Prove to me that you love Roma as much as I do!"

"Umu!" They rushed at each other, and clashed, but Nero was blown back a bit.

'What a powerful weapon...even though I have the affinity advantage as a Saber, the force from his blows is enormous!' Romulus didn't give her any time to prepare herself, rushing towards her again, and thrusting his giant weapon at her. She sidestepped, dodging it and slashing him across the front with her own blade. However, he seemed to ignore it and keep going. Nero jumped away and slashed again, but this time he caught the blade and wrenched it from her hands, tossing it away and impaling her with his weapon.

"NERO!" Hayashi screamed.

"Thrice-Setting Sun!" She cried out, as the pain of the wound left her, and she was able to recover.

"Imperial Privilege…" She used another skill that healed her cut, allowing her to run around him and grab her weapon again.

"Sorry, but I can't disappoint my master here!" She ran towards him, preparing to strike, and they clashed weapons once again. They were a little more even this time around, but Nero was still overpowered and fell onto the ground, Romulus holding his spear above her.

"This isn't working...Nero needs more power!" Hayashi cursed. She looked up into his red eyes solemnly.

'So this...is the one who founded our great civilization...his power is monstrous...but more than that...compared to him, what am I? A terrible emperor and one of the most notorious tyrants ever known...I don't even deserve the title...I don't deserve to be here...in this city...in all of Italia…'

" _Nero…"_

'...Go away….'

" _What are you doing? Cowering on the ground, accepting your loss?! Those are not the ideals of an emperor!"_

'What does it matter to you? You just want to control me anyway…'

" _Nero, dear, I want to make you stronger. I want to make you into a great ruler."_

'It's a bit too late for that now, Mother.'

" _No, it is not. Before you stands the founder of Rome. Defeat him, and the masses will see that you are the greatest ruler Roma has ever had! Don't strategize, don't think about anything, just fight! Fight! You are in an arena, after all. Or will you prove me right and sit there, like the child I manipulated all those centuries ago?"_

"..."

"It appears that I was wrong about you. I still respect you for being a former emperor of Roma, but if this is the extent of your fighting ability, I am greatly disappointed. Farewell, Empress of Rome." As he swung his weapon, she caught it with her hand and threw it to the side, unbalancing him. Grinning, she stood up slowly, a crazed look in her eyes as her sword lit up in flames. Romulus looked at her curiously, and Hayashi became concerned.

"Wow...is this...what it feels like to be a Berserker...Uncle? Mother?" she laughed, before grabbing her head in sheer agony and screaming.

"Damn migraines...go away…" She ran towards Romulus much faster than before and impaled him, continuing on into the side of the arena.

"Grgh...Moles Necessrie!" He coughed out, a giant bloody rampart wall suddenly rising from the ground, attempting to hit Nero, but she let go of her sword and backflipped away, avoiding it. More walls came up and surrounded him.

"A Barrier Noble Phantasm…" Altera leaned over the edge of the wall, interested. "Master, what is going on with the Empress?"

"I have a bad feeling. This is probably what she was like later on in her rule. She was hysteric and delirious and afflicted with chronic migraines."

"Mother...have I proved you wrong yet?" she giggled. "Now...how to get through this barricade? My sword is still stuck in there…"

"Damn...what happened to her?" Romulus pulled her sword out and used Imperial Privilege to heal a bit.

"Perhaps I should just go all out right now…" He picked up his lance again, and quickly deactivated his Noble Phantasm, running towards Nero faster than before.

'There.' She scanned her eyes over the arena quickly before finding her sword. She jumped up and dodged his thrust by placing her hand on the tip and flipping over him, grabbing the sword and running back towards her opponent.

They clashed again, continuing to cross blades, Nero and Romulus both getting more wild and excited with each blow.

"Septum Colles!" Romulus' Magic Power surged around him, increasing his strength, as the next time they clashed weapons, he overpowered her again, knocking her away.

"Ohh...you've gotten a bit better…" she grinned at him, exhaling. Once again, she grabbed her hair and shook her head back and forth in pain.

Hayashi wasn't going to stand around and watch this any longer. He held up his hand.

"Nero, by command seal, I order you to stop!" One of his marks disappeared, but it didn't have any effect when the red energy hit a barrier surrounding Nero. She turned around and scowled at him.

"Knock it off, Mother! I don't need your help!" She turned back to Romulus and began fighting him again, but was once again becoming overpowered. Eventually, Romulus impaled her and rushed her back up against the arena wall, before forcefully taking his weapon out, and she fell to the ground, unconscious. Romulus smirked and walked away.

"Nero! By command seal, I order you to stand up!" Hayashi used another one, but once again, it didn't do anything.

'Master...Why is this...happening to me…? Oh no...is this what he meant?'

" _You're Nero?!"_

" _That's what I said. You may address me as Emperor Nero."_

" _Do you have any memories of what you did in your life?! You're one of the most notorious tyrants in history! Hell, tons of people considered you to be the Antichrist!"_

" _Antichrist? What's that?"_

" _THE SPAWN OF THE DEVIL."_

" _That's impossible! You lie! The Roman people loved me! Rome loved me! I was the city of Rome itself!"_

" _So then I take it you don't remember?"_

" _Well, no...after my mother died, I began to have frequent headaches and my mental state admittedly declined...I don't remember anything after that...It's as if I was in a dream…"_

" _You were hysteric and delirious."_

'What was it he said I did…? Slaughtering Christians...murdering my spouses...ravaging citizens dressed up as wild animals...emptying out the treasury to build my theatre instead of rebuilding the city...do you see what you made me into, Mother…? This is all your fault…'

" _Hey, Nero...don't tell me that's all you've got?"_

"Wh-What?" She looked up to find Hayashi standing above her.

"M-Master…"

" _Don't tell me that this is all the Emperor of Rome can do. Don't let your bitch of a mother control you, even after death."_

"But…"

" _Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Do you know what that name means? It's the name of the fifth emperor of the glorious Roman Empire, one of the most powerful civilizations to ever exist. No one before or after you ever took your name, because you were one of a kind. Are you really going to let yourself die to the one who founded your home? He may have started it, but you built it. You can beat him. You're my friend." he smiled at her._

"Mas...ter…"

"Hm?" The second Romulus turned around, Nero slashed him, creating distance between them again.

'Grggh...If I hadn't jumped back just then, she would have sliced me in half...How is she back up again?' He used Imperial Privilege again to heal his wound as much as he could. Nero's wounds were getting healed, and her body lit up, her magic power increasing.

"What's happening to her?" Jeanne asked.

"I don't know...perhaps she's returning to her full power in life." Hayashi mused.

"Full power in life?" Kato asked.

"Indeed. Depending on how powerful their Master's Magecraft is, servants can be summoned with limited power compared to how their abilities were during their lifetimes. I was able to summon all of you at your peaks, except for Nero. Even though she was strong, she wasn't as strong as she could be. It must have been something on her side that was the obstacle, and now, maybe she moved past that in order to evolve."

"I see…"

The magic particles finally dispersed, and Nero now stood wearing her outfit from before, but with a few changes. Her left hand now had a bronze gauntlet on it, and her right arm had an armor piece on it, with a red ribbon tying a white cape dotted with gold to it. On top of it was a golden ornament in the shape of a lion's head, with ruby eyes and onyx indents on top to signify a crown. Her hair also had a light green laurel wreath in it. She planted her sword into the ground and reached behind her head, undoing the ribbon in her hair and letting it down, flowing behind her.

"King of Nation Building, I'm afraid I can't allow myself to lose here. I am the fifth emperor of the Roman Empire, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus! For Master!" Her sword lit up in flames again and she dashed towards him faster than ever before. He held his spear horizontally, blocking her strike, but this time was overpowered and sent flying against the wall as she went and delivered a flurry of attacks against him.

"This power! It's magnificent! Very well, Nero Claudius! Let's decide here and now who truly deserves the title of Rome itself!" Romulus' magic power surged around him, and he planted his lance into the ground.

"Everything, absolutely everything, leads to my lance! Magna Voluisse Magnum!" The ground started shaking, and enormous trees suddenly sprang up, trying to entrap and damage Nero, who elegantly dodged them and slashed some of them apart.

'Ha...It appears that I am no match for her anymore…' Romulus smiled to himself. Jumping up to the top of the colosseum, Nero looked down and gathered more fire onto her sword, rushing towards him again and slashing the trees apart, burning their remains. Now face to face with Romulus, she planted her own sword into the center of the arena and used her own Noble Phantasm.

"Open the gate! The curtain to the solo stage draws! Behold my talent! Listen to the thunderous applause! Praise it! The Golden Theater!" The arena changed again, similar to another Reality Marble, finding themselves in the middle of the massive stage of Nero's theatre. Roses flew around them, and she held one, smelling it before tossing it up with the others and encasing her sword in the most fire yet.

"I am the Emperor of Roses! This theatre represents everything that I believe in! And it is where you will lose! Laus Saint Claudius! She sped past him and cut him in half, then being consumed by a pillar of flames.

"Rome...is...yours…" His last words before he disappeared and was sent back to the Throne of Heroes.

Nero sighed as her theatre disappeared and the colosseum came back. Hayashi and company cheered for her as she looked up at them and grinned, running off towards her seat.

"MASTER!" She tackled him to the ground hugging him.

"Ow…." he sweatdropped. "Your new armor is a little heavier."

"Ehehehe...sorry, Master." She rubbed her head, standing back up.

"Ne...ro…." Caligula muttered, shaking.

"Calm down, you'll have your turn." Tesla ordered. "Which one of you wants to go next?"

"I'll do it." Caesar volunteered, heading down.

"Master, leave this to me. It won't take that long to defeat him." Nobunaga walked down as well. He nodded at her before looking to Nero.

"What happened back there?"

"My mother taunted me...I became my mentally unstable self...but then I...saw you, Master...telling me not to listen to her, and what it meant to be me…"

"Hm?"

"It may not make sense, but you saved me." She smiled at him, blushing.

"I see." he smiled back. They turned and watched the fight unfold.

'He said he's Julius Caesar, which means that the wars he fought were during a time where guns didn't exist yet. Even if mine are primitive compared to the firearms of today, I'll still be able to overpower him. I already have the affinity advantage. Plus he's fat. This should be easy.' She smirked. He returned a similar expression that screamed vanity.

"Despite being born a good 1500 years after my time, I have heard about you, Demon King."

"Oh?" she asked.

"They called you the 'Fool of Owari' until you defied all expectations and won the battle at Okazehama. You then went on to unify your country, making it halfway there until your subordinate staged a coup d'etat and made you end your life. He died only a short time later, and another of your subordinates finally reunited the country under a single ruler. You are the most well known of all of them, yet you were the furthest away from succeeding." he smirked, making Oda lose her cool.

"Why, you…! And look at you! You were assassinated by the Senators who believed that you would overthrow them! It was all for naught once they failed at reinstating the Roman Republic! Doesn't that make you angry?!"

"No, of course not. Because when I was alive, I reunified my home during a time of political and military unrest, and when things split up into a power grab, I dominated and became Dictator, unlike you, who simply impaled themself."

"I've heard enough!" She summoned multiple rifles that floated around her and aimed at him, shooting.

He smirked and stood absolutely still while they all missed him narrowly.

"What?!"

"When using old firearms like that, you must be as precise as possible when aiming and firing. You clearly are not focused enough."

"Is this focused enough?!" She unsheathed her sword and ran at him, still firing. This time, he held his arm out in front of him, the giant armor deflecting the bullets with ease.

"Master, why is she so angry?" Florence asked.

"When you grow up in a time where everything was decided by fighting, you tend to have a short fuse. Caesar took advantage of this, knowing who she was, and exploited her weaknesses and failures, all to make her angry and less accurate with her attacks. He's a smart tactician."

"There!" Caesar grinned, as he slid his sword under her feet to trip her, then slicing her across with it.

"That the best you can do?" She growled, aiming her rifles at his face.

"Damn!"

"Too slow, fatso!" she grinned, as the shots fired and sent him flying back into the side of the arena.

"What did you say?!" He yelled back at her, but she had already stepped up to him and sliced him on his armor, leaving a large cut in it before backing away.

'That armor of his is tough...I might have to actually use my Noble Phantasm just to blow it away.'

'To think that her sword could cut through my armor...it doesn't look to be a special weapon, but...something about it was different…'

"I guess I have no choice...I should finish this quickly anyways." she smirked, a large burst of red magic power surging around her, making Saber grit his teeth nervously.

"Without fail! I am prepared to expose corpses to the Three Thousand Worlds! By my command!" The air around her shifted, and before they knew it, 3000 rifles had materialized behind her, all pointing at him.

"Hey, now...wait a minute…!" He yelled, stepping back and gripping his sword fiercely.

"This is the Demon King's Three Thousand Worlds!" She pointed her sword at him, and all of the guns fired red lasers that created a large explosion, seemingly obliterating him. Nobunaga planted her sword into the ground and leaned against it, sighing.

"And that's the end of that, Dictator."

"My, my, I'm not sure I'm up for this."

"What?!" As the smoke cleared, his blade came flying out and impaled her, knocking her down.

"To think that I'd have to use my sword as a mere projectile...how unfortunate. But, to defeat you, I'd consider any method to be suitable." He bent down and picked up his sword from her chest. His armor had been blown away, as she had suspected, leaving only his suit left.

"I came! I saw! Therefore, the next thing to do is to declare my victory!" He kicked her up into the air, and his sword started gleaming.

"Crocea Mors!" He delivered a flurry of slashes to Oda, making her cry out in pain. Once the onslaught ceased, she fell to the ground, covered in blood.

"Ha. And you believed that you had the advantage. Perhaps you did, but I am still on top. I am descended from the Goddess Venus, after all." He smirked, beginning to leave the arena.

"Ha...haha….hahahaha! Are you truly? Then this works out rather well in my favor after all!" She slowly stood up, once again leaning against her sword.

"Ohh? You are still alive. Admirable, indeed. But another one of these will be the death of you. Crocea-!"

"I've kept you waiting...Those who value your lives, begone immediately! From now, the scorching heat will be like the Avici hell! The Three Realms, gods and Buddha, return to ashes! I am the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven! ODA NOBUNAGA!"

Caesar stopped, his eyes widening at her declaration, as another reality marble took them to a burning city. Oda's clothes disappeared, and her eyes looked at him with more fierceness than ever before.

"My first Noble Phantasm, Three Thousand Worlds, is a purely offensive attack, an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm with the range of 3000 opponents, hence the 3000 rifles. It was able to blow your armor away and greatly injure you. My second, and true Noble Phantasm, is this one."

Caesar looked around, but the only thing in sight was flames as far as the eye could see. As he looked back at her, he felt an immense burning sensation throughout his entire body. Even though he wasn't standing near any fire, this felt like his very soul was being evaporated.

"This Noble Phantasm is an Anti-Divine classification, and any Divine Spirits or Heroic Spirits with a high divinity will be unable to exist here for much longer than a few minutes. Against any normal opponents, this would only feel like a mild heat wave. But against you, a supposed descendant of Venus, someone with a decent Divinity level, you should be erased pretty soon." she grinned.

"What?! How?! How is this possible?!"

"During my lifetime, I did everything I could to abolish religion completely. The gods would no longer help us, if they even existed. During a period in time when the only way to get by in my country was to fight others and win, we needed to do just that, and establish a new government where there was a lack thereof. We needed to look to our leaders, not to some silly old myths and legends about divine existences. Of course, now that I've been a Heroic Spirit for 5 centuries, I know that some gods truly do exist. But I have been given the power to erase them with this, so it really doesn't matter."

"GRAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He bellowed, his body beginning to disperse into magic particles.

"And the Dictator falls to the Tyrant." She smiled at him, as he disappeared into nothingness. Her clothes reappeared as her Reality Marble shattered.

"So much for the great Roman Hero. I guess some legends are meant to outshine others." She smirked up at Hayashi, hobbling back to their side.

"Florence, heal her." Hayashi ordered as she slowly walked up to them.

"Yes, Master." She used her Nursing of Steel skill to heal her wounds back to normal.

"Iskandar, go out there. We need someone stronger than the last two." Tesla ordered.

"You got it." He grinned, walking out.

"Great. Who's strong enough to take him on?" Hayashi asked, crossing his arms in frustration.

"Master, what do you know about him?" Altera asked.

"Back in the Fourth Holy Grail War, a little over twenty years ago, he was the Rider Class servant participating in it. His true name is Iskandar, which was Alexander the Great's Persian name. He's known as the King of Conquerors."

"The King of Conquerors, huh...leave him to me, Master. I wish to see for myself the extent of his abilities." Altera nodded, walking downstairs and onto her side of the arena.

"Tell me, my dear maiden, who might you be?" he asked.

"I am Altera, the King of Combat. And I am no maiden."

"You're the King of Combat? The famed Attila?" He asked.

"You've heard of me? How interesting. You lived seven hundred years before my time."

"Indeed. As your master knows, I was summoned two decades ago, and my master was one who liked to study and learn. As such, I learned of many other conquerors after me, and you are second to none in my eyes."

"Yet you call yourself the King. If I am second to none, then why don't you give me such a title?"

"Because of your philosophies. You might have been an excellent fighter, but you were a poor king."

"Explain yourself."

"Well, you were phenomenal on the battlefield. Those you defeated called you the Scourge of God. However, you were not well-versed in politics, and therefore your empire swiftly crumbled away after your death. You did not care much for your subordinates either, did you?"

"No, I did not. And you? What did the title of King mean to you?"

"To me, the King is the man who must stand both in front of and beside his people! He must guide them, and be a great leader, but also act as one of his own, not becoming too good for them. If the king is going to obtain land through combat, then they must lead the charge into battle and do everything he can to see his soldiers survive to taste victory!"

"I see. You seem like a very wise king indeed. I admit that I was not the greatest leader, as I did not know anything other than combat. However, that is why I was granted my title by the Throne of Heroes, and that is why I will prove to you that I am stronger. I will win."

"Very well then! I like a good challenge! Gordius Wheel!" Iskandar jumped up high into the sky, as his chariot was summoned, led by two divine bulls.

"Here I come, King of Combat!" He yelled, cracking the reins as the bulls charged towards her on a path of lightning.

"Hmph." She summoned her sword and raised it above her head, gathering light at the tip before firing it off as multiple projectiles that resembled stars. They went and hit the bulls' faces, but they merely shook it off and continued on their path towards her.

"Interesting." She smiled slightly, and lept up towards them, placing a hand on their back and flipping up, clashing with Rider, who just managed to draw his sword and block her attack.

"Hrghh! What a powerful weapon!" He grunted, pushing back and making her backflip, landing on the side of the arena where she planted her sword in and hung from it.

"After her again!" He called out, directing his bulls back towards her.

"Hm. He's tougher than I thought." She started swinging back and forth, building up her momentum before launching off and grabbing her weapon, taking it with her.

"To me, you're just another target that needs to be destroyed. And so I must follow through." She held her sword out beside her, cutting through the bulls as she passed them. Iskandar fell down to the ground, but landed on his feet.

"Damn! That's quite a swing you have!" He summoned his bulls again, and grinned.

"Let's see if you're skilled enough to deal with this! Light is at the other end of the world! Now conquer!" Lightning charged up underneath the bulls' hooves and under the wheels of the chariot itself.

Altera lowered her stance, and the black clamp on the sword opened up and began rotating, as well as the tri-colored blade itself.

"I will destroy the target. I won't take life. Only destroy your civilization." The two locked eyes before charging at each other.

"Via Expugnatio!"

"Photon Ray!" Rider's bulls charged at her faster than ever before, trampling the ground that they tread on. Altera's light purple magic energy surrounded her, forming a sort of spear that blew right through his chariot, impaling Iskandar back against the wall as his mount dispersed into nothing.

"H-How…" he coughed out.

"This blade...it is the Sword of Mars himself. It doesn't matter how strong or sturdy something is, this weapon is believed to be able to obliterate anything in existence. There are certain limits of course. The Noble Phantasms you and I just used were only Anti-Army types. However, half of being a Heroic Spirit is the legend behind the name. I was an avatar of destruction, and the people of Europe and Asia believed that I was unstoppable. They believed the same about you as well, but you see...the difference between us is our beliefs, as I said before. You were a General, and I was a Warrior. The concepts are not so different, but there is still a certain distinction between the two and how someone would act in its position. I might have been a king, but I never thought of myself as one. All I could ever do was annihilate what stood in my way. That is how I became strong." She pulled the sword out of him.

"I see...so you didn't even consider yourself to be a king? To lead your people? How unfortunate. Ionioi Hetairoi!" His wounds healed, and his Reality Marble activated, bringing them to the desert.

"The king is the one who collects the envy of all his heroes and stands as their guide; therefore, he is not alone- for his will equals that of all his followers combined!" As he made his declaration, an army of about 10 thousand soldiers marched through the sands, coming up behind him.

"You strike me as a type of solitary king, Attila. The type who relies on their own strength rather than the strength of your people and followers."

"I am."

"And with that resolve, you will never be able to claim my title! Charge!" He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at her, his army stampeding forward.

"You are misguided, King of Conquerors. It was never your title that I was after." She tossed her sword up into the air and caught it again, but by the blade this time. Pointing the hilt up into the sky above Iskandar's army, a beam of red light shooting out of the end of the weapon.

"Teardrop Photon Ray." She glanced back up into the sky, as the open blueness of it disappeared beneath a swirling vortex of dark purple clouds.

"Do not falter! The longer we take, the more time we give her to strike!" he ordered.

A cylindrical formation of magic circles appeared in the eye of the storm, and a massive beam of light blue energy shot down towards the army. Altera's eyes slowly lowered downwards, watching it reach Iskandar's forces. As the attack touched the ground, a massive shockwave was created, the energy wave annihilating 90% of the army, leaving only about a thousand surviving soldiers. Once it dispersed, the clouds disappeared, and Iskandar looked into her emotionless eyes, shocked.

"You look surprised, King of Conquerors. Perhaps this is your domain, but that does not mean that you and your Noble Phantasm are invincible. That attack was my true Noble Phantasm, Teardrop Photon Ray, and by honing my Divinity from Mars, I can increase its range ten times over. It is an Anti-Fortress type."

"How amazing...to single handedly destroy most of my legendary army in an instant. You truly are the King of Combat."

"Thank you. But as I said before, you are misguided in your interpretations of me. I am not interested in mere titles. My motivations are simple: destruction. Of everything. It is all I have ever known, and it is likely all I ever will know. What you speak of; that is, what you believe a king should be; you are not wrong. Your beliefs are inspiring, and you seem like a very wise leader. But it is a fact that when you live your life as an isolated warrior, you become strong." She planted her sword into the ground and gave him a determined expression.

"The king's strength should eclipse the army's own so that he may fight more fiercely than his entire forces put together! The king should not have to rely on his followers to carve his own legend! The king himself is the legend! If he were not there, then what purpose would his subjects have?! Do you understand now, Alexander the Great? The difference between you and I is that I did not need my army to conquer a nation. My people followed me because I was the unstoppable 'Scourge of God.' Your people followed you because you inspired them. Comparing our lives, you were clearly the more successful ruler, but I was the more successful conqueror. When you shut people out, and make yourself seem like a relentless demon, then you become stronger than even the strongest legends in the world. THAT is what I was trying to prove to you."

"...I understand. As evidenced by the abilities that you displayed in this fight, I cannot deny that you are the stronger fighter. But...I just don't have the heart to be such a dispassionate leader! My entire existence is for my people! You're half right, that the legend is of the king himself. The people are nothing without the king. But the king is also nothing without his people! Ionioi Hetairoi!" At his command, a few thousand more soldiers materialized, now making about 5k total.

"Know this, King of Conquerors. You are not the only one who can use Will Materialization." Altera's eyes widened as red magic power surrounded her, and a few thousand hun warriors appeared behind her, shouting and raising their weapons.

"Most impressive. Let's begin then, King of Combat! Let's settle once and for all who's the greater king! ANNIHILATE THEM!" He bellowed, his soldiers giving a rallying cry in response as they ran at her.

"SPARE NO ONE!" Altera ordered, also dashing out with her own army following closely behind. As the two battalions clashed, Altera jumped up into the air and fell towards Rider, her sword colliding with his, sparking electricity and stardust.

"Give up, King of Conquerors. I have you outmatched!" She bore down with her strength, pushing him back.

"I will never yield to another, King of Combat! Even if I end up losing, I will not surrender!" He retaliated with more magic power, managing to cut her stomach and kick her backwards.

"Tch…You'll pay for that." She glared at him. Bucephalus galloped at her, Iskandar readying another swing of his sword.

Altera swung upwards, their blow knocking both of them back a bit. The armies were losing fighters left and right, but their commanders did not seem to falter in the least.

"Star Emblem." Her magic aura surged around her.

"Lightning Conqueror!" Electricity charged up on his body. The two rushed at each other again, this time generating so much energy from their attacks that it blew away the rest of their armies back into magic particles.

"Photon Ray!" Altera said through gritted teeth, her sword engulfed in purple energy, knocking him away.

Iskandar breathed heavily, looking behind him, and finding none of his soldiers left.

"It seems that you are at your limit, King of Conquerors."

"Yes...perhaps…" He gasped, his vision beginning to blur, before squinting, trying to see what was beyond her.

"Okeanos…." he murmured, the vast blue sea spread out over the horizon.

"...Or perhaps not...I can see it. It is beyond you! If I defeat you,, then I can reach it and achieve my dream!" His form lit up in golden light, making Altera raise her eyebrow skeptically. His physique seemed to get...smaller? When he reemerged, he did indeed look like his younger self, wearing a leather chest piece and skirt, a red waistcoat, and a red cape with a white fur collar. His hair was a lighter shade of red, and a bit messier, tied into a braided ponytail. His sword also changed to a smaller blade that did not have the same power emanating from it like his adult form.

'He actually...managed to change his form?'

"I haven't been this excited since my very first campaign! Those of you who are left...do you see it? Do you see Okeanos?! It is just past her! She is the final step to achieving our goals! Now, follow me forward! To Okeanos! Zeus Thunder! Bucephalus!" He activated both of his Noble Phantasms, lightning surging around both him and his horse. The last few remaining soldiers charged ahead behind him, and Altera closed her eyes, her own army disappearing.

She slashed his last soldiers apart easily, and braced herself as Bucephalus jumped up and fell towards her. Alexander grinned, gripping his sword with both hands and crashing down against her own weapon.

"You are weaker in this form, King of Conquerors! Why did you bother changing?!"

"I said it before, did I not?! I have not experienced a battle this thrilling since my first campaign! And so what better way to experience it than to take the form that I had at that time?!" He grinned, actually managing to push her back a bit.

Altera closed her eyes before swiftly opening them, her powerful red magic aura surrounding her and blowing the sand away.

'Divinity?!' Alexander's grin faltered. She sped towards him and slashed sideways, succeeding in cutting both him and his horse down before pointing the end of her weapon at the sky again.

"Farewell, King of Conquerors. As I stated before, the people have no power if they are not led by a legend such as us. Teardrop Photon Ray." She jumped backwards as another beam fell downwards, obliterating the servant and his mount, the Reality Marble breaking, and Altera standing as the true victor back in the arena. Her weapon disappeared and she walked back to the others.

"Nice job. He's not an easy one to defeat."

"Thank you, Master. It was not as difficult as you made it sound."

"Well, I guess I underestimated your powers. I didn't see you fight the other night."

"Do you understand now why I do not believe this task will be that difficult?"

"Yes. But there are still probably some servants out there who can match and maybe even defeat you."

"Not likely, Master. But I will take your word for it."

"Right then. Kato, your turn." Hayashi turned to her.

"Understood, Master." She walked down, as Da Vinci descended from her side of the colosseum.

"What is your true name, Assassin?" She asked with a sing song voice.

"Kato Danzo." She said emotionlessly.

"Oh? I'm afraid I'm not quite familiar with your legend."

"You died before my legend was cemented. It is understandable. Just know that I was a famous and powerful ninja."

"I see. Very fascinating. But as a Caster, I have the advantage over you."

"Master, are you sure it was wise to send Kato against her? She has a point." Jeanne asked.

"Yes, don't worry. I know she'll do well. The thing about the Assassin and Caster class relationship...Casters are not made for close combat, they excel in magecraft. And yes, if an Assassin is hit by a spell, it's bad news. But Assassins are amongst the most versatile of the classes, and are easily able to dodge most attacks due to their speed. Kato was a powerful ninja in her lifetime, I know she'll be able to fight this fight."

"Your master seems to greatly appreciate your abilities."

"He has good reason to." she responded, slightly blushing a bit. 

"Then I would like to see these abilities put on display during our fight." Without another word, her staff began glowing light blue, and she jumped towards the assassin, bringing it down to hit her over the head. Kato dodged quickly and did something unexpected:

her feet turned into mechanized wheels, and her arms opened outwards into sharp blades.

"What in the…?! Master?! What is she?!" Jeanne asked Hayashi.

"She's a karakuri doll. From the 17th to 19th centuries, Japanese craftsman made mechanized puppets that could perform certain actions for entertainment purposes. Kato was a flawless ninja and magician in her time, and so people thought that she secretly worked these puppets to help her perform her tasks, but the truth is that she herself is a karakuri doll, one made for combat."

"But...that means that she's not exactly human, right?" she asked sadly.

"Yes, it does. But now that she's a heroic spirit, she wants to try and become more human like, and emotionally aware."

Kato waited no longer, and sped over to Da Vinci, slashing up and down with her blades, cutting her staff.

'Those are really sharp…' Da Vinci examined the slashes on her weapon before tossing it over to her other hand and opening her gauntlet, a slot on the palm sliding open, and spraying fire through it. Kato backed away as quickly as she could, but the ends of her scarf still caught ablaze. She quickly discarded it, watching it disintegrate. She turned back and tried a different approach to injure Da Vinci: detaching her limbs. The upper half of her arms launched off of her body, connected by chains, homing in on Caster, maneuvering past her staff and punching her in the face, knocking her onto the ground.

"It's over." Kato used one of her arm blades to cut part of her clothes on her back, leaving it bare. Her skin folded upward, and small rockets exited and flew upwards, falling down towards her.

Da Vinci aimed her gauntlet at them, firing white blasts of energy that made them explode before they hit her. Standing back up again, she created blue orbs of energy in her hand and launched them consecutively at Assassin. She continued dodging them and dashed towards Caster, slashing at her with her weapons. Da Vinci narrowly dodged them and tried to use her flamethrower function again, making Kato teleport back to the other side of the arena.

"Your master was not joking. You are quite fast." Caster complemented. Assassin did not respond, and instead only raised her arms and clasped them together, stretching them outwards. Her fingers opened up and her hands began spinning, shooting bullets at her like a gatling gun.

Da Vinci tapped her staff on the ground, creating a force field that deflected the attack. Kato's fingertips went back to normal, and this time she made a claw shape with her hands and placed one on top of the other. They began rotating again, gathering up a lot of energy and wind magic around her.

"True name release, on standby. Wind gather...Kashin Mystic Code activate! Mechanical Illusionary Art- Bull Swallowing!" The tornado created by her hands blew Leonardo off of her feet, and started to get sucked into the vortex, which got smaller and smaller, trying to compress her to the point that she'd cease to exist.

"I don't really have a choice here...I have to use it! Uomo Universale!" She aimed her gauntlet at the vortex and blasted her own version at it, causing the attacks to cancel out, and allowing her to regain her footing.

Kato returned her hands to her sides, perplexed.

"What was that? How did you stop it?"

"My Noble Phantasm, Uomo Universale. I can instantly analyze any attack and use an effective countermeasure."

"I see. But what happens if it is used by itself? Show me your full strength."

"Hm? Show my true strength…? Very well, I'll respond to that order! The wise men from the East, the Great God of Northern Europe, the fruit of knowledge...My wisdom, my omnipotence, surpasses all other wisdom. Uomo Universale!" Her staff disappeared, and she created a purple orb of energy from her gauntlet, charging it up before firing it, the sphere slowly floating out to directly above the center of the arena, preparing to detonate with a massive shockwave.

'Before it goes off...I have to finish her...I hate having to use this technique, but since her Noble Phantasm is one that counters mine...I'll have to use my second. She won't have time to react.'

She crossed her arms behind her, both sides of her arms opening out into blades.

"Hm? What are you up to now?" Da Vinci asked, taking a few steps backwards to avoid her own attack's effect.

"Black Arts Decapitation Method…Moonflower." Faster than anyone could see, she dashed past her and sliced outwards. After reappearing behind Caster, her body was sliced up into five parts, resembling the five petals of a moonflower. Her blood sprayed everywhere before her remains dispersed into golden particles and were sent back to the Throne of Heroes. Kato hid inside of the halls, Uomo Universale's orb finally exploding, creating a hurricane of sorts that cracked both the ground and the arena in various places. When everything settled back down, she went back up to where the others were.

"I'm glad I summoned you of all other assassins." Hayashi said, smiling at her.

"Thank you, Master. Though I dislike having to use my Moonflower technique...it is too violent for my liking. But if I had not stopped her, she would have simply continued using her own Noble Phantasm."

"It's alright. You did the right thing. Now then…" Hayashi looked over at the other side, the last two enemies being Berserker and Archer. He locked eyes with Caligula's hollow red ones for only a moment before grabbing his head, and gasping.

What was happening? What was he seeing? A world in flames, and him standing in the middle of it, his eyes blood red, and his whole body covered in the gore of his victims. All of his friends...Nero, Altera, Jeanne, Florence, Kato, and Oda, all dead and lying at his feet. He was possessed again. He was an Avenger…

"Master! Are you alright?! What's wrong?!" Jeanne asked, running around in front of him and gasping when she saw his eyes begin to change color and his teeth to grow sharper, almost into fangs.

"Master! Get ahold of yourself!" Nero grabbed him and shook him, bringing him back to his regular self, gasping.

"Master, you're not well! You shouldn't go out there! Leave them to me instead." Jeanne pleaded.

"I'll be fine...don't worry about me." He began walking down the stairs, heading out into the arena, leaving his servants concerned.

As he went out, he was not met with the cheering of roman spectators, like before. Instead, he witnessed an apocalyptic hell...bodies strewn everywhere, blood and guts spilled around the arena, and flames spread around the ground. Eventually, a shadowy black figure walked through it, also covered in blood, but smiling madly.

So this was Caligula's madness...they didn't even do anything yet, but one look at him and he was being affected. This man was dangerous. As much as Nero was a tyrant during her later reign, Caligula was on an entirely different level. Just the fact that she was a Saber and he was a Berserker spoke volumes of how much worse he was.

He studied him before now. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus utilized every type of torture imaginable: beating, flaying, branding, burning, amputations, hard labor, bondage and other restraints, various forms of psychological torture, suffocation and strangling, crucification, poisoning, stabbings, decapitations, eatings by animals, thrown to death, torn apart limb from limb, and suicides so that they didn't have to be killed by him.

Caligula's name was spoken in the same breath as Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan, and Vlad the Impaler. But it seemed as though his mind was barely there anymore. He couldn't even get through a single sentence without having to stop and growl. Fitting, really.

"You...are just like me…" he cackled.

"I am nothing like you." Hayashi spat back.

"You think so? You...carry madness inside of you...you are a murderer...aarghhh! GODDESS!"

Hayashi looked at him condescendingly.

"You're not doing too well, are you, Emperor of Death?"

"I...Nero...Agrippina...DIANA!" He roared, rushing to Hayashi and punching him, easily knocking him back against the wall despite him trying to block.

"You…! Mages are nothing compared to servants!" He ran up again, and Hayashi dodged his next few strikes, delivering his next few strikes with magic imbued into them. While he was able to deal a bit of damage to Berserker, it didn't seem to faze him one bit. He licked the blood off of his mouth and grinned.

"Do you know what I am….? I am a god…..A GOD!"

Hayashi had heard about this aspect of him. He believed that he was, in fact, Jupiter, and tore down statues of him and replaced them with his own sculptures.

'If I antagonize him more, his moves will become sloppy.'

"A god? You are nothing. Lower than the peasants you ruled over." He smirked, making Berserker grit his teeth and yell out in rage, running over to Hayashi again and punching him multiple times. Hayashi took it, and kicked him back, delivering a series of swift blows before snapping his fingers, a pillar of fire engulfing the servant.

"You cannot stop me like this...my entire life….was fire itself!" he roared, once again walking through the flames and looking up into the sky.

"You are boring me...you will never beat me...like that…" he muttered, jumping up and locking his fists together, falling towards Hayashi. He kicked his guard apart and slammed his head, knocking him down onto the ground, his face hitting it before fading in and out of consciousness.

"It's time...for you to feel the same as me...I will prove to you….that we are alike!" He looked up, his magic power gathering around him, changing the time of day to night, where the moon shone brightly.

"Alas! Gorgeous! Goddess...Oh, I can see the goddess in sight...Flucticulus Diana!" The moonlight glowed brighter throughout the arena, affecting Hayashi and his entire team.

"Wh-What is….happening to me?! Jeanne grasped her hair, feeling intense pain in her head. Her eyes began to change to a bright yellow, and her armor seemed to begin to change into a different, black version.

Nero's appearance didn't change, but her previous state of hysteria seemed to be resurfacing.

Oda, Florence, and Altera's eyes lost their color, and became empty hollow shells, their empty conquering personalities beginning to take over.

Kato was not affected since she was not human.

"I...must...stop this...Luminosite Eternelle!" She used her flag's purifying abilities to purge the madness within her allies, but it didn't do anything to Hayashi.

"Master! Oh no, this must be Avenger's influence!"

"You….KEHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed, slowly standing up, his eyes now a powerful red, and a massive red magic energy surging around him. Even though he was standing up, his movements were limp, his arms swinging down to his sides, and his body swaying with every step.

"You have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into, Emperor of Death." Without warning, he sped across the arena, grabbing Caligula by the throat and slamming him into the wall, crushing it.

"Master!" Jeanne jumped down, running over to stop him, but it was too late. He shoved his other hand through Berserker's chest, pulverizing his heart.

"Ne….ro….." His body disappeared, and Hayashi smiled maniacally, smearing the blood from his hand onto his face.

"Come on, then, Maiden of Orleans. Let me wallow in your entrails!"

Jeanne flinched, feeling intimidated by his choice of words, but continuing on anyway.

"Come on, we need to help her!" Nero ordered, the rest of them following after her.

"You are nothing compared to my darkness, vermin." He held his hand out, and a black magic circle was cast, hurting Jeanne with a huge burst of black flames.

"AAAAGHHHHH!" She screamed, waving the fire away with her flag. Altera went next, swinging her sword at him, but he walked backwards, avoiding her strikes and kicking her away. He ran up to her as well and kicked her again hard, sending her flying into the wall.

"Laus St-!" Nero began, before he grabbed her by the throat and tossed her into Altera.

"Mechanical Illusionary Art: Bull Swallowing!" Kato activated her first Noble Phantasm, but Hayashi merely walked through the cyclone and fired a beam of energy at Kato. The ninja dodged it, and tried to fight him, delivering a series of blows that he caught before giving her a swift punch to the torso, sending her flying back as well.

Florence went next, kicking him and firing her pistol. But he dodged them and punched her hard in the stomach, making her fall onto the ground.

"Three Thousand Worlds!" Oda unleashed her full power again as well, all of her rifles aimed at him.

"Well well...let's see how this works out." he grinned. All of them fired, but the shots went right through him.

"What?!" She landed again going up and slashing through his body, but not working.

"Your body...it's made out of smoke…" she whispered.

"Indeed. He uppercutted her, sending her flying up and falling onto the ground hard.

"I am not exactly a person...I'm more of a concept. Or at least, the part of Angra Mainyu that is a concept. All the World's Evil...that is what I am. Evil is not a physical construct, it is a mental one, or in my case, ethereal. I cannot be harmed by any weapon."

"I seriously doubt that." Hayashi turned around to find Tesla facing him, his gauntlet sparking.

"Pioneer of the Stars." His electricity surged around him, and he extended his arm towards him, firing bolts of lightning that electrocuted Hayashi, making him growl.

"You bastard...DAMN YOU!" He tried to run over to him again, but Tesla stopped him, continuing his onslaught from before. He sped over to him, his leg covered in the blue energy, kicking him down onto the ground.

"It seems that you are the type that believes yourself to be invincible, though you're really not. Perhaps physical attacks do not work on you, but I am an Archer, and I do not use such methods."

"Tesla…" Hayashi growled.

"Pay close attention! Here exists God's thunder! Come now! System Keraunos!" He aimed his gauntlet up into the air, a large rotating circle of purple lightning generating above him before lowering to his midsection. He aimed his gauntlet at Hayashi, firing off a massive blast of the purple bolts, making him scream out in pain until he was unconscious.

"An Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm used on a single person…how magnificent." He looked around, finding that none of them were conscious, save for Jeanne, who was struggling to stand up again.

"And one lives. Oh well, minor setback." He slowly began walking towards her, before he was stopped by a golden figure descending down between them.

"Why are you here?! Master Rider?!" Tesla asked, distraught.

"I've taken it upon myself to eliminate you. It seems we have no further use for you."

"What?! But I just took out all of them!"

"No, you did not. That was his doing." He pointed down at the unconscious Hayashi. "You took him out, but that is only because you are a special case. Had you had any other type of attack, you would not have succeeded."

"All the more reason why I should remain allied with you! I do have these powers, and I am one of the most powerful Archer class Servants."

"Indeed. Then how is this for a reason? This woman is to be my companion soon enough, and I do not want to see her killed."

"Wh-What?" he asked. Jeanne said nothing, but looked up at the Egyptian King, her mouth slightly open.

"Do not question my methods, Archer. I am the God-King of this world, and you should obey me, no matter my reasons. Mesektet." Tesla looked up and saw a massive golden ship fly through the sky and over the colosseum. Rider and the rest of them were surrounded in golden energy before disappearing and teleporting up onto his ship.

"Jeanne d'Arc. Do not fret. I will take care of him now."

"Damn it...System Keraunos!" Tesla's right half of his suit ripped apart, revealing half of a golden suit, the rest of his electrical workings, and his hair changed color to light blue due to the energy he was emitting. He fired another massive blast of lightning up towards the ship, but Ozymandias simply swiped his hand to the side, a golden laser beam being fired and easily overcoming his attack, obliterating both him and the arena, shattering the reality marble.

"Ozy...mandias…? Why…?" Jeanne whispered, looking up at him. The last thing she saw was his face looking down at her before blacking out.

 **X**

" _Hayashi...why are you doing this?!"_

" _I am... all of the world's evil…"_

" _You...what…?"_

" _Sorry, Koharu. He's not awake right now. Your brother is gone for good."_

" _No! I will not let go of him! You bitch! I cannot be stopped like this!"_

" _Hayashi, your family...is dead. You killed them all...I'm sorry."_

" _Koharu…..EEEEAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHH!"_

"Gah!" Hayashi's eyes fluttered open, his whole body trembling, his head pounding.

"Mm...Master, keep it down…" Nero mumbled, next to him.

"S-Sorry...wait a minute...Nero, wake up!" He ordered, slightly shaking the sleeping girl.

"Whaaaat~?" She whined, slowly getting up and rubbing her eyes.

"What happened? Weren't we at the Colosseum before?"

"Ah! You're right?! Why are we back in the hotel?" Hayashi tried to stand up, but couldn't, due to the pain in his abdomen.

"I wouldn't move yet, Master. It'll take a few days to get you back to normal." Florence stated, walking in.

"Florence! What happened?!"

"You went berserk."

"Wh-What…? Caligula...oh no, not again…" He lowered his face into his hands.

"Yes, I'm afraid you fought and defeated everyone rather easily. I'm afraid I blacked out, and don't know what happened afterwards."

"I see…Thanks for healing us."

"You're welcome."

"Is everyone else okay?"

"Yes, they're all fine. Jeanne told me she was going out as soon as I woke up though. She seemed to be in quite a hurry."

"Curious. I'll ask her about it later. Now...do you think you could leave us for a bit? I want to get some rest."

"Of course, Master." She nodded and walked out, closing the doors to the master bedroom. Hayashi exhaled and laid back against his pillows, turning to Nero and finding her large green eyes staring into his.

"I'm sorry for what I did...I really thought I had better control over it at this point…"

"It's no worry Master. Remember that I lost myself during our fight as well. I ignored your commands."

"But I went ahead and attacked you...I…I don't deserve to be your Master…"

"Praetor, I already said it's alright. I know that wasn't really you. My Uncle's Noble Phantasm, Flucticulus Diana, is supposed to infect others with his madness. We would have been taken over ourselves if it weren't for Jeanne's Luminosite Eternelle."

"I couldn't be saved by that. The darkness that Angra Mainyu left inside of me cannot be compromised."

"Yes. But Praetor, if you cannot control it, then you simply have to gain control over it."

"You're saying...you want me to use it on purpose so that I can break out of it?"

"Yes. I see no other alternative."

"Nero...I don't know if I'm capable of that."

"Don't worry, Praetor, I'll be right there to help you."

"..."

 **X**

Where was he? The magic power that she was following had been leading her on for 15 minutes now. At last, the signal was strongest at the top of a large building with a dome-shaped top. She used her magic to become invisible, then scaled up the building so that no one would catch her. Arriving at the top, she deactivated her cloaking spell, and walked around before finding him looking over the city, same as last time.

He was wearing a modern outfit this time, wearing black shoes, black pants, a belt, a black undershirt, and a brown leather jacket, complete with a golden necklace adorned with jewels, like his usual garb. He had expensive taste.

"You're quite fond of scenic overlooks, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes. It is a view that I am most familiar with, looking down on the city I ruled. It has been 3 millennia since I walked this earth last, and it's so much more developed and different than my time."

"That's the idea, is for society to progress. It is certainly better than in my time."

"That is where you're mistaken, Jeanne. I said that today's world is more developed, I didn't say that it was more progressed. During my time, there were less civilizations in the world, and it was relatively peaceful and simple. Nowadays, society seems to be more complex, where countless wars were fought recently. After all, your entire legend was centered around a war. If you did not fight, you wouldn't have been immortalized as a Heroic Spirit."

"That's true, but war helps people grow. I learned so much from fighting alongside my comrades that I would never had had if I had remained a simple farmgirl."

"I see. So that is your perspective, huh?"

"Yes. And what is yours?"

"I am deeply saddened that this is the way humans solve their problems. It is in our nature, I suppose, to fight conflicts out. But for the whole world to participate, country amongst country...It pains me that my kingdom is battling like this."

"Your kingdom?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed. I am the Pharaoh, the born God-King and Ruler of this world. Not everyone is aware, but I nonetheless preside over them."

"Right...now then, the reason I came up here. Why did you save us from Archer?"

"Is that really so important?"

"It is to me. I know that you said you were interested in me, but are you really so head over heels that you were willing to wipe out your own comrade just to keep me alive?"

"You ask as if your life is not so important."

"It just seems ridiculous! You worked together, and yet you took his life the moment he threatened to take mine away!"

"That is what love is, Holy Maiden. We do crazy things for each other just to make sure we can stay together. As I understand, you were executed at the young age of 19. You were fighting in the midst of a war to liberate your country, you did not have time to fall in love. But now that you have some time to experience life...admit it, Jeanne d'Arc. You are falling for me."

"Th-That's ridiculous! We've only met twice, that's not long enough for me to develop feelings for you!"

"For any normal person, no. I agree with you. But I am the King of Kings, a God among men. Meeting me once is enough to make anyone fall in love with me." His golden eyes stared into her lilac ones.

"Mm…" She looked away.

"You should feel honored, Jeanne. It is not every day that I have a mutual attraction in one who is also interested in me. You see, my wives were not made servants after their death. And as such, I will never see them again, and now that I've been summoned for the first time in 200 years, I'm looking for someone to spend my time with. After all, this is not a Holy Grail War, and thus I do not have to actively participate. I have time to explore and experience. Tell me you do not find it appealing to journey around the world at the side of a legendary Egyptian king?" He grinned at her, making her blush start up.

"I...need some time to think about it."

"Of course. Take your time. Now then, despite me stepping in to finish the job, you did keep your end of our bargain by seeking me out after you had finished fighting my associates. And so, I will give you three small pieces of information in exchange."

She swallowed, feeling nervous for some reason.

"First, there are nine groups of us, each led by one stronger than the rest. I believe I told you this last time. The leaders each represent a class of Heroic Spirit. We call them Masters. Our Master Ruler was Sherlock Holmes, and Master Archer was Nikola Tesla. There are seven others: a Master Saber, Lancer, Caster, Assassin, Berserker, Avenger, and, as you may have figured out already, I am the Master Rider."

"Yes..."

"Second, the amount of magic power that I exerted to lead you here today was only about one fifth of what I am truly capable of unleashing."

'WH-WHAT?! The trace that I followed here...was equal to my power! If that's only one fifth of what he can do….'

"And third." His words snapped her back to reality. "The next place you'll be going is France. Our Master Saber is there along with his accomplices."

"France...huh…"

"That's right. I'm afraid that's all you'll be getting out of me today. So long. Until next time." He disappeared, and Jeanne sighed, doing the same herself and heading back to the hotel.

 **X**

"So this is it? Or at least what's left of it?"

"Yeah...after your death, everyone considered it to be an embarrassment to the empire due to your reputation. Within a decade, it was stripped of its marble, jewels, and ivory, and the palace and grounds were filled with earth and built over. They ended up building the Colosseum and the Trajan Baths over it. Of course it was rediscovered in the 1400s by accident, and many people signed their names on the walls when venturing down there, but it's currently closed because of rain damage that causes the ceiling to collapse."

"Do you...still think we could venture down there?"

"I don't see why not. It was yours, after all." Going into the excavation site, they dropped down into the halls, beginning to walk around.

"You weren't joking. It's all stone and mold now."

"Yes. Although…" Hayashi went ahead of her and ran his hand over one of the walls, finding a carving.

"The famous painters Michelangelo and Raphael journeyed down here during their days, as well as the Marquis de Sade."

"I have no earthly idea who those people are." She went to his side and examined the signatures herself. Once they finished exploring the remains, they left and went to where what was left of her colossus was.

"This is it? There's nothing here but the foundation…"

"Yeah. After your death, they modified the head to look more like Sol, the sun god. They moved it here to build the colosseum, but it deteriorated until the 5th century when it was no longer mentioned, most likely destroyed in one of the barbarian invasions. This foundation was only just rediscovered in the past 30 years or so." Nero was silent, and only rested her head onto Hayashi's shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like, had I not lost myself, and you not been possessed? I look at what's left of these, and all I can see is a once great emperor who has been stripped of all of their glory...Is that how you feel? Or am I prying too much?" she glanced at him worriedly.

"...No. No, you're right. That's exactly what I see. An overconfident prodigy mage who let his guard down and paid the price for it ten times over. We're...kind of the same, in a way. We both lived through and experienced different circumstances, but we both...killed those closest to us, and were manipulated by those who we thought were our allies."

"Mmm...I think you're right." They were silent again for a few minutes, the only action performed by Nero, who moved in closer to him, hugging him. He wrapped his left arm around her waist in response.

"...Hayashi?"

"Mm?"

"How did you get past your demons?" she asked shyly.

"...That's just it. I didn't." She stared at him for a moment before looking back at what was left of her short-lived legacy.

 **X**

"Ah. We're all here."

"No. We're not, after what you just pulled yesterday."

"Oh, quit growling, Berserker. I did it in our best interests."

"Oh, really? Are you so smitten with that girl that you took down Tesla just to bed her?" Caster asked.

"No, I just-"

"We've already lost Ruler, Rider. Had you not interfered, Archer would have taken care of those guys like nothing. But because of your self-centered agenda, now we have to send Saber out there." Avenger growled.

"Explain yourself, Rider." Everyone quieted down as Angra Mainyu walked forward. Ozymandias turned to him.

"True, I find her attractive, and I wish to be with her. I am not lying there. However...you are all missing the bigger picture here. The end goal is not to win her over. It is to win her over."

"I'm afraid I'm not following."

"Hayashi Tsukamoto's servants...he has a total of six of them at his side now, no? Of the six, Jeanne d'Arc is the most humble and reasonable. Nero Claudius, Attila, Florence Nightingale, Oda Nobunaga, and Kato Danzo are all incredibly loyal to him. If I tried to coerce information out of them, I doubt it would ever work and they would become hostile. Jeanne however…"

"Ah. I see where you are going with this." he grinned.

"In the end, it does not matter if she falls in love with me or not. If she does, it is simply a bonus. I just need to get her to trust me enough so that she returns my favor, and gives me information about their weaknesses so that we can exploit them."

"I see. Clever indeed." Saber stepped forward.

"Speaking of which...I did tell her that they would be facing you next. Gather your merry crew together, Saber. You're going to France." Rider smirked.

 **End.**


	3. Part 1: Monte Carlo & Aachen

**I just re-realized that the Fifth Holy Grail War did in fact happen in 2004, and the Fourth occurred in 1994, as opposed to what I previously believed. When playing Grand Order, Singularity F is "Fuyuki in Flames", which takes place in 2004. I mistook that for the ending of the fourth war, and indeed, the servants in it match the fifth. So with this story taking place 3 years after Unlimited Blade Works, it actually takes place in 2007, not 2017. Also, as I said, the pairings are off, and this will become a harem. But, in keeping with the story, Hayashi will have sex with them for the sake of becoming closer, not for the sake of simply having sex. You guys are right though, that most Fate lemons include pretty much every form of Arturia in them. I like her as a character, but in terms of sex appeal, Nero, Musashi, and Okita are more desirable for Sabers. I also enjoy Nero and Altera's personalities more, as being hilarious for the former, and indifferent for the latter. Arturia is the stoic one, but she's featured so much since she's the poster girl for the franchise, that I've grown a bit tired of her. Not her Lancer form though. That one's badass. Astolfo will be a female in this story anyways, and the fact that it's an alternate universe from Apocrypha helps to encourage that change. I think that's about it, I'll have a few more things to say at the end regarding the next chapter. As always, enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Master Saber's Search: Trio Sonata No. 12 in D Minor, "La Follia" (Antonio Vivaldi, played by Chiara Banchini & Ensemble 415) [It's actually in c# minor, which sounds better in my opinion]**

 **Servant Meeting: Secret Maneuvers (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Monte Carlo: The Airship (Cuphead OST)**

 **Entering Casino: Murine Corps (Cuphead OST)**

 **Jeanne and Ozymandias Meeting: Honeycomb Herald (Cuphead OST)**

 **Ramesses' Manipulation: Land of the Pharaohs (Derek and Brandon Fiechter)**

 **Astolfo's Boss: All Bets Are Off (Cuphead OST)**

 **Playing Against Boss: The King's Court (Cuphead OST)**

 **Getting Drunk: One Hell of a Time (Cuphead OST)**

 **Waking up in Aachen: Empress Sanaki (Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn OST)**

 **True Identities: Caineghis, King of Lions (Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn OST)**

 **Jeanne vs. Gilles: Point Zero (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Gigantic Horror Summoning: Shuhan (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Jeanne Losing Consciousness: Will of the Heart Orchestrated Version (Bleach OST)**

 **Jeanne Alter: Cometh the Hour Part A (Bleach OST)**

 **Jeanne Alter vs. Gilles: Cometh the Hour Part B (Bleach OST)**

 **Nero's Newfound Strength: The Duelist's Determination (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Altera vs. Leonidas: Anumati (E.S. Posthumus)**

 **Altera vs. Siegfried: Main Soundtrack (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Altera Defeats Siegfried: Tragedy and Fate (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Avenger Hayashi vs. Everyone: Yhorm the Giant (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Vs. Astolfo: Battle Scherzo (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Astolfo Defeated: Parting (Fire Emblem Echoes Shadows of Valentia OST)**

 **Vs. Charlemagne's Noble Phantasm: Twilight of the Gods (Fire Emblem Echoes Shadows of Valentia OST)**

 **Jeanne Alter Reappearance: Prophet (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Vs. Jeanne Alter: Crimson Flames (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Hayashi and Jeanne: Ruler - Prayer (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

"Sir, are you alright?"

"Hm?"

"It's just...you've been standing there looking at the same painting for such a long time…"

"Ah, yes. Don't worry, I'm just incredibly interested in this one. King Louis XIV, right?"

"C-Correct. He was considered France's greatest king and one of the greatest kings in both European and world history."

"I see. But he himself is not the object of my interest. That sword at his side, the golden one."

"Ah, yes! The legendary Joyeuse, the sword of Emperor Charlemagne!"

"Indeed. Do you happen to know where that sword is?"

"The sword itself? Of course, it's in our collection. Follow me." The guide brought him over into one of the other galleries, bringing him to a display case where the sword and sheath were presented.

"Ah, marvelous."

"Indeed! The blade is composed of various different elements. Both sides of the pommel are decorated with birds, which can be dated to the tenth and eleventh centuries. The cross guards are in the form of winged dragons, which are dated to the twelfth century. The gold spindle is covered in a diamond net pattern, and dated to around the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries. The scabbard is a long velvet sheath embroidered with the fleur-de-lis, which was added somewhat recently, in 1825, for the coronation of King Charles X. The oldest parts of the scabbard are the metal plating at the top, adorned with gemstones and mounted on filigree bezel, which is characteristic of the second half of the thirteenth century, and the buckle and buckle plate."

"There have been many alterations made to it...still, it is even more glorious than I remember." the man muttered under his breath. The guide looked at him questioningly, and the examiner cleared his throat and looked at him firmly.

"How much for the sword?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I'd like it. How much money do you need to sell it to me?"

"What?! S-Sir, that sword is a national, no, international treasure! Charlemagne is a legendary king and emperor, who was the first to unite most of europe under his rule since the roman empire!"

"I'm well aware. I'm prepared to pay you 3 million euros for it. Is that acceptable?"

"Th-Three million?! Even so...I can't, it's been here for hundreds of years, and I can't just sell you things out of our collections. I'm sorry."

"You can't make one exception for the original wielder?"

"Wh-What?" The next time he looked over at the man, his eyes flashed blue for a brief moment, surprising the guide. He quickly knelt down and bowed his head.

"Of course...my king...I'm so sorry I didn't realize that-!"

"It's alright. Now then, the sword. I'm afraid I am in need of it."

"Of course. Give me a moment." He took one of the keys off of his belt and unlocked the case, then removing it so that he could reach the sword and sheath it into its scabbard, then hand it over to the other man.

"Thank you very much. Now then, the price…?"

"You don't have to pay a thing, my liege. Please, by all means."

"Cool. Thanks." He smiled, turning and walking out of the museum, carrying the artifact.

Once he was far enough away, the guide's spell worn off, and he yelled, becoming frantic as he realized what was missing.

 **X**

Jeanne quietly tried to open the door and slip back into their hotel room. She couldn't believe that she let herself stay out all afternoon just thinking about what to do with Ozymandias.

But her plan didn't quite work. Hayashi sat on the couch in the main room, looking at her with a somewhat impatient look.

"M-Master…!"

"Jeanne. Where were you?"

"I was...exploring the city, that's all." He turned one of the lamps on and motioned to the chair across from him, where she sat down without a word.

"I'll ask again. Where were you?"

"I already said I was out exploring the city."

"You're hesitating and sweating. Tell me the truth."

"I really was!"

"Then why were you? After everything that we went through yesterday, you suddenly feel the need to dash out of here as soon as you wake up just to explore the city?"

"Yes!"

"Jeanne. Don't make me use a command seal. I know when you're lying to me." He stared at her intently, intimidating the poor girl.

"I...very well. I was really out exploring...I was just pondering something."

"And what might that be?"

"Master...please don't tell the others…"

"I can't promise that."

"...Very well. Two nights ago, the last night we spent in London, I had a dream."

"Go on."

"It wasn't a natural one, as someone initiated it through magecraft."

"What was the dream about?"

"I...was in Memphis, Egypt. I was lost, and didn't know where to go, until someone offered to guide me. He brought me up to a scenic overlook, and introduced himself as Ozymandias, a former Pharaoh."

"So he's a Heroic Spirit, then."

"Yes. He said that he was interested in me romantically. He wanted to pursue a relationship with me."

"By what means?"

"He said...that he would give me information on his side if I kept seeing him. Otherwise he would fight us all right away and finish us off."

"And you listened to him? Jeanne, you know that we could have helped you out, you didn't have to keep it a secret."

"No, I couldn't...Master, I felt a fraction of his magic power today. He's like nothing I've ever seen before! We wouldn't stand a chance against him! If I had gotten your help, we'd all be dead!"

"...That still doesn't excuse what you did. So we don't fight him yet, but it would have given us valuable information so that we could prepare for stronger enemies! How many times did you see him?"

"Twice…"

"And after this little talk of ours, what are you going to do next?"

"I...cannot deny that I found myself mildly attracted to him, but now...it was wrong to keep it from you, Master."

"Good. If you see him again, tell him the deal's off and break contact."

"Yes. Um, Master, one last thing."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever heard of him? Before now?"

"You said his name was Ozymandias? Yeah, I know who he is."

"Who is he?!"

"Ozymandias is simply his greek name. His real name is Pharaoh Ramesses II, the most powerful and legendary Pharaoh Egypt has ever known. I studied him quite a bit back in the academy."

"Pharaoh...Ramesses II?"

"Or Ramesses the Great. You grew up on the bible, Jeanne. Don't you remember him from the Old Testament? Moses and the Ten Plagues, leading the enslaved Jews out of Egypt, all that stuff?"

Jeanne remained still for a moment before her eyes widened and she gasped.

"I-I've...been such a fool…! How could I…?! To fall for a man such as that…"

"Don't beat yourself up. Yes, he was somewhat of a tyrant when it came to that particular part of his rule, but as for the rest of his life, he was well celebrated, so much so that the Egyptians all refer to him as the 'Great Ancestor.'"

"He did call himself the 'King of Kings…'"

"He must be powerful indeed then. But really, don't worry about it, Jeanne. We'll find a way past him. Even if it means that I have to use my powers."

"B-But Master…!" she sobbed, looking at him in shock.

"I won't let any of you die. That's a promise." He smiled at her, making her heart skip a beat. "Now good night. Try not to worry yourself over the future that much. Focus on the present." With that, he walked off, going back into his room, and leaving Jeanne to stare at the floor before shaking her head and going into her own room to fall asleep.

 **X**

"Welcome back, my King!" Astolfo cheered, jumping up and down excitedly as he walked towards their hideout.

"Thank you, Astolfo."

"Did you get it?"

"Right here." He smirked, summoning his old sword to his hand.

"Wow...it's been so long since I've seen it in action!"

"Indeed. Though it should be again quite soon." The two walked in, finding the rest of the Master servants and some of their subordinates accompanying them.

"Ah, there you are, Saber. It's time for you to head out." Angra Mainyu stated.

"I see. Where am I going?"

"France, Germany, Austria, your pick. Anywhere you'd like?"

"Hmm…"

"I have an idea." Everyone turned to Ramesses.

"Oh, really?! Correct me if I'm wrong, Rider, but wasn't your plan the one that cost us Archer?!" Avenger cackled.

"I told you it was for a good reason!" he growled back.

"I don't think it really matters what it's for, you cost us a powerful servant!" Avenger stood up now, beginning to walk over to him.

"Knock it off, both of you." A barrier separated the two, courtesy of Master Caster.

"Tch. Putain de bâtard…" (Damn bastard) He walked back to where he sat previously.

"Hmph. Itifat muhawalat kariyatayn." (Nice try cretin)

"What is this plan of yours?" Angra turned back to Rider.

"We're going to France. I know exactly what to do. Bring Astolfo with you, but in the meantime, tell the rest of your group to meet you in Aachen. That is where you're from, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Oh, and you're going to need some fancy clothes…"

 **X**

"Master, I meant to tell you…" Jeanne mentioned after breakfast.

"Hm?"

"He did tell me...where it was that we would be heading next. France."

"You wouldn't happen to know where in France, would you?"

"No...I'm afraid not."

"Well, it must be either Paris or Versailles, right? Those are the two obvious choices after all."

"It would make sense." Jeanne agreed. Although, just then, Hayashi received a text from Lorelei.

"Hm...three servants in...Monaco? Specifically Monte Carlo."

"But why?"

"Maybe they have good taste." Hayashi shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Jeanne asked.

"Oh, that's right. During your time, Monaco wasn't much to look at, was it? Well, today, it's one of the most high class and luxurious vacation destinations in the world. Of course, the main attraction is the Casino de Monte-Carlo. It's an entertainment complex that consists of a world class casino, a Grand Theatre, and a ballet company with exquisite performances. And of course lots of food and drinks."

"That sounds incredible!" Nero smiled widely, jumping up and down. "When do we get to go?!"

"Today, but hold your horses, Edward Thorp. I have to put together our accommodations while we're there, and you also have to get some new clothes again."

"Again? How come?" Altera asked.

"Because like I said, Monte Carlo is classy and one of the richest places in the world, certainly the richest city-state in the world. So we can't walk into the casino with our usual attire."

The servants looked at each other curiously.

 **X**

"Alright, this it it. Castel Romano." Hayashi parked his rental car in a space just outside the clothing outlet, exiting along with the others who were all wearing their casual outfits. Going up to the second floor, Hayashi led them over to one of the formal wear stores and went to the front desk.

"Ah, benvenuto! Cossa posso aiutarti oggi?" (Ah, welcome! What can I help you with today?)

"Grazie. I miei amici e io abbiamo bisogno di vestiti nuovi. Un vestito per me, due vestiti per questi due, e quattro vestiti per gli altri." (Thank you. A suit for me, two suits for these two, and four dresses for the others). He pointed to Florence and Nobunaga, who both agreed that they'd prefer suits to wear as opposed to dresses. Nobu because she was just used to wearing a masculine style uniform most of the time, and Florence because she claimed that her assets were too big and most companies would struggle to find and alter something that would fit her, and it would cost too much money, time, and effort to get her into one.

"Certo, signore. Se mi seguireste tutti, i miei soci e io prenderemo le vostre misure e vi troveremo dei vestiti appropriati." (Of course, sir. If you would all follow me, my associates and I will take your measurements and find you appropriate outfits) The man, keeping his promise, had someone help each of them individually.

Most of them found their clothes within about an hour, but they were still waiting on…

"Ah! Manda via le merci signore! Ho lavorato duramente per ottenere questo corpo! ...Va bene, questa è una bugia, non ho dovuto fare nulla. Ma ancora!" (Hands off the goods mister! I worked hard to get this body! ….Alright, that's a lie, I didn't have to do anything. But still!) Nero stepped back from the man, who was trying to get her into a white dress that was struggling to fit over her butt.

"Nero…" Hayashi facepalmed.

"Hey! Non è colpa mia se sono stato benedetto con questo corpo da dea!" (It's not my fault I was blessed with this goddess-like body!)

"You're still speaking in Italian…"

"Oh! Sorry." She turned back to the other man. "Scusa. Ho reagito in modo eccessivo. So che stai solo facendo il tuo lavoro." (I'm sorry. I overreacted. I know you're just doing your job.) She put more effort into putting the dress on, finally getting it to work. Walking over to the mirror, she turned around and admired herself.

"I love it, but it still feels like it's missing something…" She looked back at the tailor. "Si fa a vendere fusciacche? Forse negli accessori?" (Do you sell sashes? In accessories perhaps?)

"Si. Proprio in questo modo." (Yes. Right this way.)

Nero picked out a silk red sash to wrap around herself.

"Done, Master!" she called out.

"Good. Then let's pay and be on our way."

"850 Euros per favore." The salesman said as soon as they got to the register, calculating the price for all of the clothes they bought.

After paying, they all carried their new outfits to the car, and drove off.

"This time, we're going to be driving. So it will be about six hours. Get comfy." They looked at him before leaning back into their seats.

 **X**

"So then, everything is ready?" Angra asked.

"Indeed. All you two have to do now is act as the manager and dealer of this casino." Ramesses looked at the two, who were now dressed up in suits.

"And again, I ask how you were able to buy this place considering it's been owned by a wealthy royal family for centuries." Saber looked over at him.

"You should not underestimate my wealth."

"So what exactly is your plan again?" Astolfo asked the Pharaoh.

"To make sure that they all get blackout drunk. When they all pass out, we'll bring them to your palace in Aachen and wait for them to wake up. Then when they do, they'll all have strong hangovers while fighting you, which will affect their fighting skills."

"Ah. A sound idea." Saber complimented.

"In that case, I leave everything to you. I need to pay a visit to Assassin." Angra disappeared.

"Why is Assassin so distant from the rest of us anyways?" Saber asked Rider. He shrugged and walked towards the elevator to his penthouse.

"I heard it's because he bears a grudge against our leader."

"Which would imply that he's met him before now."

"Indeed. Something about participating in a previous Grail War. They came into contact one way or another."

"Then if that's true, why is he bothering to side with us?"

"I'm not sure. I know nothing about him, not even his True Name. Nobody does. Our leader is the only one who does, and simply told me that if he ever goes rogue, then I am the one to take him out." He left it at that, going into the elevator and up to his private quarters.

 **X**

"...What do you want?" A rough and irritated voice asked as he noticed Angra Mainyu walking towards him.

"What I want is your cooperation. And I know how to get it." he grinned.

"You'll never get anything from me. You may have summoned me, but that does not mean I have to listen to you."

"But you will. We have something to discuss."

"What could there possibly be to talk about? The last time we came into contact with each other, you possessed my wife and forced me to simulate killing both her and my daughter, then sent Fuyuki into flames."

"I did not force you to kill anyone. I gave you a choice, and you made yours. Now then, as I said, I need your cooperation."

"And I told you that I have no reason to work with you."

"I have a good reason that will change your mind." He turned to his right and extended his arm, quickly casting magic that created a summoning circle. Before long, a silver-haired beautiful woman appeared, wearing a white and red dress with incredibly long sleeves, short skirt, and white and gold crown.

Assassin lifted his head slightly.

"I have no further need of her. She was a good core while she lasted, but Gilgamesh is a better one. I summoned her for you." She looked over at him curiously, and he motioned towards Assassin. She turned to him, again confused as to what was happening.

The man sitting before her wore black combat pants with knives and corresponding sheaths strapped to his left hip, what looked to be a submachine gun strapped to the back of his waist, gray body armor, gray cloth that covered his face, and a dark red hood wrapped around his head and neck that trailed into a small cape on his right arm. He also had a similar garment that resembled the lower half of a long coat that was wrapped around his waist, again in a matching dark red. He took his hood off and slowly unwrapped the cloth, revealing his face and spiky white hair.

"Iri…." he called out.

"Kiritsugu…." she breathed, running over and hugging him. Avenger couldn't help but smile, though it was insincere. After embracing for a moment, they looked over to him.

"Well?" he asked, shrugging. "Now you have what you wanted."

"Yes. And how was this supposed to make me listen to you? Did you think I'd owe you a favor or something? If anything, now I have even less of a reason."

"Hehehe...you are a sly man, Kiritsugu Emiya. When you and your wife died, your actions and her purpose were deemed acceptable to become heroic spirits and continue living within the throne. Of course, since she still existed within the grail, you had yet to meet her until now, so you were simply holding out hope. But now that I have no further use for her, what's there to stop me from having Ramesses obliterate her into nothing?"

"Me." He growled, beginning to stand up. Avenger put his hands up in a surrendering position.

"Now now, I didn't finish yet. Don't jump to conclusions. I'll leave her alone if you help me fight Hayashi when I need you to. You're free to your own agendas any other time. But if you don't agree, I'll have Ramesses destroy her, as I said."

"So she'll be sent back to the throne."

"No. He has a way to eliminate her status as a servant entirely. She will no longer exist." Kiritsugu gritted his teeth, looking down angrily.

"This is the closest you're going to get to a happy ending, Emiya. Your daughter Illyasviel is already dead, and your son Shirou has moved on. In fact, there is a version of him that is already a Heroic Spirit." Avenger sneered.

"Shirou...is…?"

"Yes. He ran around rampantly, so intent on making your dreams come true, but only ever earning scorn from those he could not please, and eventually losing his life, becoming the very definition of irony and hypocrisy. I could summon him now, if you wish…"

"No. That won't be necessary….very well. I'll follow you."

"Excellent. I knew you'd come around." He smiled before turning and leaving the two others on their own.

"Why did you accept?" Irisviel asked.

"I can't risk losing you again. Now that he has a new core, you and I will be free to return to the Throne of Heroes even if we are defeated this time around. I'll never let you go again. I love you." He leaned in, kissing her, not giving her a chance to answer.

 **X**

"Wow!" All of the girls breathed, taking in the surroundings as Hayashi entered the fantastic resort city. Parking at their hotel, they got out and grabbed all their new clothes, walking into the main hall. He walked up to the front desk where a young man greeted him.

"Bienvenue Monsieur! Vérification?"

"Oui." Hayashi looked back at Jeanne and waved her over.

"What is it? Is something wrong, Master?"

"I don't speak French."

"Wha-?! THAT'S what you called me over for?"

"Yep. English, Japanese, Italian. That's what I know. So I need a translator."

"Oh, very well." She sighed.

"C'est sous Tsukamoto." Jeanne told the man, who then entered in the information and nodded, grabbing expensive looking room keys.

"La suite de diamants. Seulement le meilleur pour vous monsieur." (The diamond suite. Only the best for you, sir.)

"Merci." He directed them to the elevators.

"C'est au deuxième étage au bout du couloir. Profitez de votre séjour monsieur." (It's on the second floor at the end of the hall. Enjoy your stay sir.) Nodding to the man, they followed his directions and entered their room.

"Master...who paid for this again? This seems excessive…" Jeanne muttered as the others gaped in wonder and began to look around their new room.

"Lorelei paid for it for me. She called in some favors. There's two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dressing room, a lounge, library, dining room, outside loggia with jacuzzi that overlooks the pool, and a rooftop terrace. Make yourselves at home. But get dressed soon. We're going to the casino." They found various places to put their things and lie down, with both Hayashi and Nero going out onto the terrace to look at the pool.

"Praetor, after all of this is over, would you be opposed to coming back here? Simply for a vacation of sorts?"

"No. Not at all." He smiled at her and she leaned into him.

"...Nero, are you sure you want to get involved with me? Knowing what I did in the past, and what could potentially happen in the future?"

"I don't mind. You're the first Master I've ever had a connection like this with. Of course, I've been summoned a few times before for various reasons, but none of them considered me anything more than their servant. I suppose that's what we're originally meant for."

"Maybe it was, but you shouldn't forget that you were all alive before you become spirits. The fact that you were made servants in the first place meant that you led extraordinary lives. You are living beings that should be able to have feelings."

"Wow...Hayashi…" she gasped, looking at him. He turned as well, staring at her. They glanced back towards the door to make sure none of them were watching. Nero quickly jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, planting her lips fiercely onto his.

"Mmm…" she moaned, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Parting, she looked into his eyes.

"Truth be told...when I was alive, despite having multiple lovers of both men and women, I never felt a true connection to any of them. Perhaps that's why people thought that I was the mythical Whore of Babylon. I was never the type to want a permanent relationship. When I found someone new that I was attracted to, I simply tossed the old interest aside and cast all of my love onto the new one. But now...I'm not really sure how to deal with this...this is the first time I've felt a single overwhelming, lasting attraction in a single person."

"There is no way to deal with it. When people are in love, they do crazy things for each other, often before thinking about it. Just let your body do the work for you. If you truly love me, as I love you, then simply remain close to me." He kissed her again, and she melted into it.

"Ummm…." Their eyes widened and they separated upon seeing Jeanne in the doorway, staring at the two of them.

"Is this a bad time…?" she muttered, her face quickly becoming red.

"Kind of. What is it?"

"We're going to start getting ready Master. You should too."

"Alright." he sighed, as Jeanne went back inside. "We'll have to continue this later tonight." He told Nero, who nodded.

They were all ready after about an hour. Nero wore a silk white dress with open slits on her right leg and chest, displaying a great amount of her cleavage. Her sleeves were poofy as usual, and her red sash was tied around her waist, beginning from her back. Around her neck was a golden necklace with red jewels.

Altera wore a simple silver short dress that just covered her thighs, as well as a gown of sorts over it, made of the same material, with her veil's star pattern on the end of it. It went over her shoulder and around into a sort of trail like a ballgown.

Jeanne wore a black dress with an open slit on her right leg, a black bow against her hip, and a see through black mini cape around her neck. She wore knee high tights and put a lavender flower in her hair. Her outfit was open in the back.

Nightingale wore long black tights, a brown skirt, white dress shirt, black tie, black vest, and brown suit, plus a black overcoat.

"I...don't think they'll let you in with your gun strapped against your waist…" Hayashi told her.

"Ah. Is that so?" She made it disappear, looking at her Master with a questioning glance.

"Is this better?"

"Yes. You're fine like that."

Nobunaga wore a black suit along with a red overcoat, and Katou wore a strapless maroon dress.

"If we're all ready then, let's get going." Hayashi grinned. He wore a black tuxedo with a red vest and red bowtie.

Walking into the casino, the explosion of color from all of the game machines, lighting, and the room itself was almost overwhelming.

"So...where do we start, Master?" Katou asked.

"I can't sense any magic power anywhere here. I don't know where to go." Jeanne stated.

"Then until then, let's just enjoy everything this casino has to offer. We'll split into groups of two. Nero, go with Altera, and Nobu, go with Katou. Jeanne, you're with me. I still don't speak French."

"Yeah, yeah…" she rolled her eyes.

Breaking up and going around into separate wings, the groups still couldn't find any trace of a servant anywhere.

"Boissons, monsieur? Mademoiselle?" One of the waitresses offered Hayashi and Jeanne.

"Oui. Je vous remercie." The waitress had two different drinks on her tray.

"What are they?" Hayashi asked.

"This one on the right is called the Colletti Royale Cocktail." She responded.

"Oh, you speak English?"

"Oh, everyone here does. We just prefer French since it's our national language." she giggled. "In any case, the Colletti Royale is a mixture of Rosé Champagne, Cointreau, St-Germain, Lime Juice, Orange Bitters, Partida Reposado Tequila…"

"God, I hate Tequila." Hayashi interjected.

"...And Blood Orange Juice."

"God, I love Blood Orange Juice." His eyes lit up.

"Well then, you might enjoy this one instead. The Blood Sage Cocktail."

"Which is…?"

"Sage Leaves, Blood Orange Wedges, Aviation Gin, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup, and an egg white."

"That sounds amazing. I'll take it. Merci." She handed the glass to him.

"Then I'll have the other one." She handed the Royale to her. The waitress nodded to them before going off to get some more drinks to serve.

They both took a sip of theirs, and Hayashi smiled.

"Wow, this is good." Jeanne shook her head and shut her eyes, exhaling forcefully.

"Si forte…" (So strong)

"Are you sure you can handle it? We can switch if you want…"

"N-No, I think I'll be okay…" she coughed before handing the glass to Hayashi, and he gave her his. They tried each other's.

"Wow, this is good!" she smiled.

"Hm. Not bad, but you're right, it is strong." He laughed, as they swapped beverages again.

They went around and played at a few of the games, but one thing in particular caught Hayashi's attention.

"Hey, a Blackjack Table." He grinned, going up and taking a seat.

"Blackjack?" she asked, standing beside him.

"It's a card game. I used to play it with my family all the time." He looked up at the dealer, a cheery looking girl with long pink braided hair. She wore black pants, a white shirt, a green tie, and a black vest.

"Looking to play?"

"Yeah. What are the winnings looking like?"

"25000 Euros right now. No one's been able to beat the dealer yet."

"I see. And are you the dealer?"

"Indeed I am."

"Great. Then let's get this game going." Jeanne watched as Hayashi was dealt a six and a seven, and the dealer had a four face up.

"Hit me." She dealt a five next, making Hayashi's total 18.

"Again?" She asked.

"No. I'm staying with this."

"Alright then." She began dealing to herself, beginning with a nine, and then another four. Both players watched intensely. If she got anything higher than him without going over 21, then she won. A five. She went over!

"Ha. That's one for me." She sighed, smiling.

"You're pretty good. Another four wins and that grand prize is yours. Right now you've got 1000 euros. Want to take it and leave?"

"Hell no. Let's keep going." He grinned.

"Well alright then." Jeanne looked around, taking another sip of her drink before almost choking on it. She felt that magic energy again. He was here.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Eh? U-Uh, don't worry about it. I'm gonna go wander a bit. I'll be back shortly."

"Sure. I'll wait here for you." She nodded, walking off further into the building. Following the trail, she came to an elevator, and went in, pressing the penthouse button. When the door opened again, she saw an all out luxurious accomodation, looking to be almost twice the size of their own room. And there he was, leaning over the railing on the balcony, holding a golden glass with some kind of drink in it. He was dressed in his modern day outfit from the other day, the expensive brown pants and jacket, and seemed content. She slowly walked over, standing next to him. Without looking over, he began to speak.

"Isn't it magnificent? To be able to look down on everything I own, and see how it flourishes?"

"Everything you own?"

"Yes. I recently purchased this casino."

"I see."

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, quite. Listen, I need to tell you something." She stated, turning to him. His golden eyes looked into her purple ones, with an intensity that made her hesitate. Before, she was worried about what Hayashi would do to her, but now she was much more scared about what he would do to all of them. No, she had to do this. She couldn't be with this man.

"I...can't keep working with you. I'm sorry."

"...Oh?" He didn't sound that upset about it.

"I know who you really are. Your real true name. And to be with someone like you...well, you're right, it would be quite an adventure, but it would also go against everything I stand for, and I can't keep working against my friends and my master like this. We're done."

"I see. Well then, that's too bad. Tell me, Jeanne, did you see through me the whole time?"

"What do you mean? You were giving me information on your forces in exchange for dating you, right?"

"Well yes, but it was never really about the romance in the first place. You see, I was two steps ahead the entire time. The whole point of these little meetings was to get you to trust me enough that you began doing the same for me, offering up information about yourselves and your abilities, and possible weaknesses that I could exploit."

"Wh-What?! But-!"

"But what? You didn't realize it? You thought that the entire time I was solely after you? Jeanne d'Arc, you are a beautiful young woman, but my love will only ever be for my queen, Nefertari. After all, her necklace is the catalyst used to summon me." He grinned, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out the garment.

"...What was the second step? You said you were two steps ahead, right?" she asked cautiously.

"Ah, you see, your cooperation was never really needed. As I've mentioned before, and as you know, I am more than powerful enough to handle all of you on my own. So the weaknesses were never really needed in the first place. But by getting you to that point of sharing, your master would see you as a traitor, and thereby sever your contract. Before you would disappear, my master would make a contract with you, and you would have no choice but to join my side and fight against your former comrades. I've been manipulating you from the beginning Holy Maiden."

"You sick man! Is this all just a game to you?!"

"Everything is a game to me, my dear. I am the King of Kings. And no other mage or servant could ever hope to be my equal. Even Gilgamesh cannot compete with me any longer. You may be a Heroic Spirit, and the savior of Medieval France, but you are still but a nineteen year old girl. Do you know why it is that I chose you as opposed to the others?" She backed away from his now intimidating gaze and demeanor. So this is what sources mean when they say that he had "eyes like the sun?" It felt as if God himself was looking down on her.

"Yes, I am from a far more ancient time than yours, but the grail has granted me all the history I need to know, and I've done the necessary research on you and your comrades as well. All of the others are fiercely loyal to Hayashi Tsukamoto. It is in their nature; two are conquerors, one an emperor, one a nurse, and one a ninja. They would never betray him if I had tried to negotiate. But you, you are an inexperienced girl compared to them. And so all I needed was a bit of blackmail to convince you. If I gave you the option to help me in exchange for letting your friends live, I knew you would take it very quickly. Of course I wasn't lying then. I still plan to erase you all when the time comes. But it was, in a sense, all a ruse to lessen your numbers and shake your resolve."

"And everyone calls you the greatest hero of Egypt...your methods are abhorrent."

"Anything to get the advantage. That is war."

"...I'm leaving."

"Do not expect me to show mercy any longer. You may intrigue me as a person, but as a heroic spirit, you are worthless." She gritted her teeth angrily and stormed out of the room going back down to the casino. He looked back down at the entrance where everyone was walking in.

"This, too, was part of my plan, Jeanne." He smiled, taking a sip of his drink again.

 **X**

Arriving back in the casino, Jeanne went over to the blackjack table and sat down next to Hayashi, huffing angrily.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking over.

"I don't want to talk about it." she muttered, downing the rest of her drink and calling a waitress over for another. Hayashi eyed her, concerned, but turned back to the dealer, ready to play again.

"Hit me." He already had 16, and now he got...a five!

"21, I win. That's the fifth one." he grinned.

"Ah, so it is. Congratulations." She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down something then signed it, handing it to him.

"Here's a voucher. Go to the prize exchange, and they'll give you a check for your winnings."

"Thanks! But...I kind of want to play more. I love this game."

"...Tell you what. I'm gonna go grab my boss. He's an incredible dealer, better than I am. If you can beat him three times, then I'll double your winnings to fifty grand."

"Seriously? But what if I lose?"

"Then everything comes back to us. It's double or nothing."

"...I'll take it." She smiled, running off to one of the back rooms.

"Well?"

"Well, he won the prize money. I told him if he could beat you thrice, he can double it. If not, he doesn't win anything."

"But with my foresight and control…"

"Exactly. And so he drinks until he blacks out."

"I see. Very well then."

Hayashi looked up as the dealer came back with another man, who was taller than her. He wore a blue shirt, black tie, and black suit. He had messy but spiked black hair, with some strands of white in the front, and the bottom part of the back being white.

"So, I hear you're quite the player."

"Yeah. And I hear that you're the best around when it comes to dealers."

"That's right. So, like my associate said, beat me three times and you can double your winnings. Lose even once and you get nothing."

"You got it."

"Master, is that really wise to be betting it all away like that?" Nightingale and the others walked up from behind him.

"Don't worry, I can do this."

"Alright then, let's start!" He grinned, shuffling the cards and dealing two out right away to Hayashi. Both two's, only four.

"Hit me." His gray eyes glanced at the deck, before tossing another card over to him. An Ace.

"Fifteen." The manager looked at the cards again and smiled.

"Hit me." He tossed one more over. A six.

"21! That's one!" Hayashi cheered. The manager smiled and took the three cards back in, shuffling them again. He dealt him another two cards, this time a Jack and a nine.

"I'll stop."

"Alright then." He dealt himself two eights, resulting in a sixteen. Looking at the deck again, he could see that the next card was an eight. He dealt it to himself, going over again.

"That's twice now. Congratulations." He gathered up the cards and shuffled them back again.

"One more win and you've got it! You can do this Master!" Jeanne said. He dealt Hayashi a six and a seven again.

"Thirteen." The dealer then placed two cards on his own side, a four and a five.

"Nine for me."

"Hit me." Another card was tossed over.

"A four. Seventeen." The dealer looked down at the deck, then looking over to Hayashi and locking eyes with him. He seemed to pause for a moment before making a determined expression.

"Hit me."

"Master, I think that's too risky." Nightingale looked worried.

"I have this. I know I do." The dealer tossed a card over, and Hayashi looked at it. A five. He was over by one.

"..." Dealing one last card to himself, it was the Ace of Diamonds.

"Eleven. That makes 21. Looks like I win after all." He gathered up the cards and shuffled them again, giving them back to his assistant dealer.

"Sorry about that pal. But a bet is a bet." He waved, heading off back towards his room.

"Want to play again?" The girl asked.

"No, that's alright. I need a drink. Come on girls." They walked off towards the bar, making the dealer smirk. Sitting at one of the stools, the bartender came over to them and asked them what they wanted to order.

"Just give us all those Blood Sages." She nodded, and left the six of them to their own agenda.

"Master, you shouldn't be this bummed out. You won 25000 euros!" Nobu stated excitedly.

"Yeah, but I still lost to that guy...after I was so close."

"It is what it is." Nightingale comforted. "We can't do anything about it." Hayashi sighed and looked over at Jeanne, who still seemed down.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"...I'm kind of tired of playing games for a while. Do you guys just want to stay here for the rest of the time?"

"I won't complain." Jeanne had another drink, the red tint on her cheeks now clearly visible.

And for the rest of the night, they drank, exactly as Ramesses planned. They didn't participate in any games, but watching others play gave them a rush too, and they ended up dancing for a time as well, though Nero kept stepping on Hayashi's feet. But halfway through the night, when going to order another drink, they all passed out.

 **X**

"Ughh….what happened…? I don't remember anything…" Hayashi groaned, slowly waking up on a cold floor. He looked around, spotting the others, also on the ground.

"Ugh...my head…" Nero cried, slowly sitting up and rubbing her temples.

"I haven't had a hangover like this in forever…" Altera groaned.

"This is what it feels like?" Jeanne asked, lying back down.

"It seems like you're all awake at last." Looking around, they found themselves in an exquisite cathedral. The voice came from the top of the stairs, where a familiar looking face sat in a throne.

"You...you're the manager of the casino." Hayashi mumbled.

"Yes and no." Standing next to him was the dealer from before. There were eight others nearby as well.

"There's a lot of them this time." Hayashi remarked, the others moving in to stay close to him.

"Yes. We are no longer taking it easy on you, Hayashi Tsukamoto. Angra Mainyu wants your body and we are to bring you to him."

"Tell him to go to hell."

"That I will, but I doubt it will make any difference." The man laughed, playing along.

"Now then, I believe introductions are in order." He waved his hand.

The first one had black hair that was tied in a short ponytail at the end, as well as white armor with a cross on the chestplate, and a small white cape from the waist down. He had a white sword sheath strapped to his waist.

The second had long blonde hair, and wore white tights, black shoes, blue shinguards, a teal coat, a white cloak in the shape of a flower, and a large blue hat with a white flower and pink feather sticking out of the top. They also had a thin purple scabbard against their side.

The third wore simple black boots, green pants, and a green tunic. He had bandages wrapped around his left arm, and a crossbow strapped on top of his right one. He wore a green cloak that covered his face, but he seemed to have orange hair.

The fourth was a man of muscular build, clearly being the warrior type. He wore gold boots, a loincloth, gold armor with large shoulder guards, a worn down gold helmet that masked his face, and a red cape. The back of his helmet was on fire for some reason, and he wielded a large bronze shield in his left hand, and a large gold spear in his right.

The fifth one looked significantly less intrigued, and had a very relaxed demeanor. He wore brown boots, baggy white pants, a green tunic, gold and black armor, and a red and gold cape. He had brown hair that was tied into a short ponytail, and a goatee. He wielded a black lance with a gold tip.

The sixth had long brown hair, and cream colored armor over his whole body. His right shoulder had a dragon head carved into his armor, and he also wore a white and red cloak on the other side of his body. A long sash with an inverted color scheme was also wrapped around him. He also had a sword strapped to his side.

The seventh seemed to have a lot of unnecessary exotic accessories. He wore brown boots with gold buckles and teal colored jewels on them, black pants with dark red stitching in the front, plus rings around his knees with the same, gold and blue jewels. He had on a brown and gray vest, kept together by a belt with a golden buckle, with a pouch of coins and a spyglass attached to it. He wore a dark blue overcoat with golden trim on the front, puffed out shoulders that were purple with maroon crosses emblazoned on them, white gloves, maroon and gold cuffs, and a tricorn hat. He had bracelets with blue feathers around his wrists, a bronze cross necklace, and a lower hanging necklace with blue feathers and jewels. His hair was gray and he had a long pointy gray beard as well. He had a fancy looking sword strapped to his side.

The eighth had long silver hair, a black and light red outfit, and steel armor. His shoulders had large guards on them, and he wore a dark blue cape.

The ninth, the girl from the night before, who seemed to be the second in command, wore a black dress, black stockings, white boots, white and pink skirt armor, white gloves, and a red cape with black fur along the neck and end. She wore a small ornamental crown on her head. She also had a sword with her, kept in a pristine white scabbard against her waist.

The leader, the manager from the casino, wore a black shirt and black pants, shiny silver armor, a white cloak and a white cape with a light blue trim inside. He, like the rest, had a sword, but it seemed to be larger and wider than the others.

"Saber, Gilles de Rais."

"Gilles?!" Jeanne's eyes widened, looking at him.

"Holy Maiden…"

"Saber, Chevalier d'Eon."

"Archer, Robin Hood."

"Lancer, Leonidas!"

"Lancer, Hector."

"Oh, shit. Dibs on not fighting him." Hayashi stated, prompting the others to drop their jaws and look at him in disbelief.

"What? He's the hero of the Trojan War. He can match Achilles. No thanks."

"I'll take him." Nero rolled her eyes.

"Rider, Georgios."

"Rider, Christopher Columbus."

"Saber, Siegfried."

"Rider, Astolfo!" The girl introduced herself.

"And you may refer to me as Charlemagne. I'd rather not stand on formalities."

"Charlemagne? The legendary King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor, and ruler of most of Europe?" Jeanne asked.

"Indeed. Though I don't believe I'm really cut out to be king of anything…" he shook his head. "I just focus on what's in front of me. Which, as it happens, is you. Take care of them." The first eight stepped forward, Astolfo deciding to stay back with her king.

"There's seven of us and eight of you. One of us will have to take on two if we want this to divide evenly."

"I'll fight two at once." Altera volunteered.

"Alright then. Let's split up like usual to stay out of each other's ways." Hayashi said, running off with Columbus following after him.

"Here." Charlemagne snapped his fingers, and different portals to other places appeared. "To limit the destruction of the town."

"Follow me." Nero went into one with Hector tagging along.

Altera waved Siegfried and Leonidas over, and the three went into another one of the portals.

Kato went with Georgios, Chevalier went with Nobunaga, and Robin Hood went with Florence. Of course, that just left Gilles and Jeanne, who ended up in the French countryside from their portal.

"And so it begins." Charlemagne leaned back, Astolfo folding her arms on the top of his throne.

 **X**

"I had heard that you were one of Hayashi Tsukamoto's servants, but I had hoped it wasn't true. I would have preferred that we not meet and have to fight like this." He looked off into the distance.

"On the contrary. This is a reunion that we needed to have. I heard about what you did from Shakespeare, that caster in London."

"I see…And what do you think?"

"I cannot condone your actions in the least. But...I understand why you did them."

"You...understand? You are not the same as when we met last. Everything that I did, and you 'understand' why I did them? Your Master must be rubbing off on you, because you are not acting like a Saint."

"What do you mean?"

"My actions...I sodomized and murdered dozens of children just to summon a demon that I could never accomplish. I denounced God because I believed that I would be struck down for my actions if he was real. And you understand why i committed these atrocities? How sickening. I cannot even forgive myself, Jeanne! And yet you are showing me mercy for these things?!"

"Gilles, it's not like that!" she protested.

"It's not like I really have a choice. Emperor Charlemagne will use command seals on me anyway. I suppose a little bit of incentive will help me out here." He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at her.

"Please don't do this…"

"We must. It is inevitable. Now draw your sword." He looked at the slim blade on her waist.

"This is not my weapon of choice. I use it only in emergencies." She summoned her flag and twirled it, holding it behind her back.

"Gilles, are you sure about this? I don't want to fight you, but as I said, I do not condone your actions, and I will defeat you soundly if we proceed."

"That's precisely what I desire. Rid me of this guilt already, Holy Maiden." He ran towards her and began thrusting his weapon, with Jeanne parrying the attacks with her flag.

"Don't you remember this banner, Gilles? We fought side by side to free our country!"

"And we didn't even succeed! The war didn't even end until after we both died! What did we accomplish in the long run, Jeanne?! Didn't you learn of the French Revolution since being summoned in this time?!"

"Yes, of course...But still! I stand by what we fought for during our time! And if you have truly given up on those ideals...then you are no longer my friend or ally." she said coldly. Gilles eyes twitched, and Jeanne gasped, realizing what she just said. Where did that come from? Was Hayashi's personality really rubbing off on her that much?

"F-Forget I said that."

"Too late. It's already been said. Now is the time to advance! Saint War Order!" A magic aura surrounded him and increased his power, making him faster and stronger. The next time his blade struck Jeanne's flag, it was much harder to block, and she was knocked off guard.

'Ungh...his strength has really stepped up from before…I need to…' She undid the flag, allowing the banner to be fully shown, then clutching it to her chest and intensifying her gaze on him.

"God's Resolution." He felt himself stop short, his body paralyzed by her powerful look.

"I'm sorry." She slashed him across the front with the spike of his flag, his eyes widening as blood dripped down his mouth.

"I see...so this is your answer then...perhaps it would be easier to fight you if I used my grimoire instead." He summoned the book, and felt himself transform into his Caster form.

"Prelati's Spellbook: Textbook of the Sunken Spiral Castle." Now he wore a dark robe with gray occult symbols on it, a same color cloak, and a light red and black collar. In addition, his skin grew paler, his hair slicked back, his body became thinner, his eyes became crossed, and thin purple magecraft lines appeared on his arms.

"Ahh...it feels good to be in my true form again...now then, Holy Virgin...let's begin the second act. In the end, you will be mine." He grinned, opening his book and casting blasts of energy that were even harder for Jeanne to deflect.

'At this point, it's all or nothing…' She ran forward again, trying to reach him, but was hit by one of his blasts and knocked backwards, recovering with a roll.

"Let's see how you do with these, my Holy Virgin." He raised his hand, summoning about a dozen water demons, all having tentacles and razor sharp teeth, but not much else. Jeanne twirled her flag again and began slicing through them, but they kept reviving.

'This isn't getting me anywhere…'

"That isn't going to get you anywhere, Holy Maiden."

"I know!" She yelled at him, raising her flag up, glowing golden.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" The golden aura protected her, nullifying any incoming damage. She went back to stabbing them with her flag, and she was protected by their own attacks and poisonous mist, but the horrors still revived indefinitely.

"I wonder if I could use…" She transferred her defensive power into her flag's spike, slashing again and this time disintegrating them.

'She transferred her defensive power into an offensive one. How creative…' Gilles smiled. 'With this power, there's no longer a reason to continue using that spell. In that case…' He surged magical energy into the remains of the horrors, making the blood boil and evaporate, a red mist appearing and clouding Jeanne's view of him. Backing away a good distance, Gilles cast a spell that increased the volume of the blood, making a river of it that went up to Jeanne's thighs. She stepped out of it and went back on using magic underneath her feet, allowing her to stand on top this time.

"Ugh...my clothes are soaked with this now...I'll need to wash them when I get back to the hotel…"

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh wgah'nagl fhtagn." Gilles recited a spell and felt himself become swallowed by the monster he summoned the last time he fought in that Holy Grail War. Roaring and then slowly moving towards Jeanne, he laughed from within.

"Come now Holy Maiden, surrender and join me! It will be just like old times!"

"You know I can't do that!" She growled, preparing to fight the massive beast.

"Then you will fall here." The beast roared and swiped two of its tentacles at her, which she jumped up to avoid, then slashing the beast diagonally across its torso with her powered up flag. However, it easily regenerated, and another of its tentacles whipped her, sending her flying backwards and landing on her back.

"Guh...What is that thing…?"

"This is evil incarnate, my love."

"I am not in love with you."

"Ah, but I am with you." The monster roared again and continued to knock her around, and despite her attempts to slash it apart, it kept healing itself.

Face down and nearly unconscious in the blood river, Jeanne was too injured to move.

"One final time, Jeanne. Will you join us?"

"...No….." She coughed.

"Then this is the end." The monster smashed her down underwater.

…

" _Is this really how it's going to end…? Is this all my legacy amounts to…? That everything I tried to do for my country ended in my execution, and my closest comrade became a sodomizer and murderer with an interest in the black arts before being executed himself...the war didn't even end until twenty years after my death...and yet I still was made a servant of the Holy Grail...why…?"_

" _It's because of your fighting capabilities."_

" _Huh…? Who said that….?" Jeanne looked into the distance, where she heard the voice that called out to her. There seemed to be someone there, but the only thing she could make out was the shadowy outline of a body._

" _Who are you?"_

" _I am you. Or at least, I'm you at the peak of your power. I'm what you could become; I'm what you should become."_

" _The peak of my power? What do you mean?"_

" _I mean that you're meant for more than this, Saintess. You are a Ruler, but you are not particularly well versed in fighting because you abhor violence. But if you allow me to help you, then you can become more than strong enough to defeat Gilles and that abomination."_

" _...Hm."_

" _Does it sound so bad? If you say no, then you'll die here. What you need to beat that thing is an attack that obliterates in one shot. And as you are now, you only have one, which costs you your life. Wouldn't you rather stick around to spend more time with Master~?" she cooed, making Jeanne blush._

" _Nevermind about Master. I need to make this right, and to help all of them…..Alright. What do I have to do?"_

" _Just close your eyes and clear your mind." She smirked. "I'll take care of the rest."_

" _Alright…."_

"Hmm...she's not moving anymore. Unconscious?" Gilles had the monster lightly tap her body with one of its tentacles, but she quickly and unexpectedly got up and slashed it off, making it back up and roar in pain.

"Gah! Jeanne?!" Gilles yelled in surprise. What she cut off from the tentacle burned into ash. Slowly standing up, she looked down at herself in absolute shock.

"What...What is happening to me?!" She screamed, seeing her clothing transform, as well as her skin become paler. Before long, her armor and skirt was changed to a full black, as well as her sword and her flag, and now wore a tattered black cape with a black fur collar. Even her hairpiece had changed colors, and her hair itself was less blonde and more silver. Her eyes had changed into a striking golden color as well.

"Jeanne? What is this? What has happened to you?" Gilles asked.

"You mean you don't know? You are a servant of the Holy Grail as well. Haven't you heard of Alter forms?"

"Alter forms…? But you…?!"

"That's right." Her tone had shifted to be more malicious and callous compared to before.

"You see, when it comes to who becomes a Heroic Spirit, the Holy Grail is rather unpredictable. After all, even Sherlock Holmes, who's a fictional character, is one of them, while many famous kings and queens, are not, and do not qualify. This version of me is also a bit of a hypothetical, yet it still exists. It's a scenario when after my execution, you made a wish on the Grail for my revival, and upon my resurrection, I would carry out vengeance on all those priests who wronged us. And thus, Jeanne d'Arc Alter, Avenger, was born." She curtsied, still smiling.

"You...Jeanne? You believe that you are Jeanne? Interesting...I find it hard to believe, considering that you are the exact opposite of my Holy Maiden. Jeanne d'Arc had no regrets when she was burned, so if she were revived, she would not want to seek revenge, even by my wishes…..Though I must say, the thought of a dark Jeanne excites me…!" He licked his lips, making Jeanne Alter scowl.

"You think you're bedding me? Think again." She spat, readying her new flag. Gilles sent the gigantic horror forward, with Jeanne running up to it and slashing its tentacles off again, with more force this time.

"You certainly don't seem any smarter, Dark Maiden! The gigantic horror will continue to regenerate!" he cackled.

"Will it though?" She asked confidently running up the length of its arm and igniting her flag with flames. This time she cut the entire thing off, and it fell into the river.

"I told you, that won't work!" But when it tried to regenerate, nothing happened. "What?!"

"Cauterization. This arm's gone now." She jumped across it and did the same thing to the other arms, ensuring the defeat of the beast. Jumping back down onto the ground, Jeanne unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Gilles, with black magic spears appearing above him. She swiped it through the air, the lances rotating and falling down, stabbing him multiple times.

"So this the power of an Avenger...why haven't I done this before?!" she laughed, putting the blade back into its scabbard.

"I believe it's time to end this. I won't show you the same mercy you did to me and ask to join my side, because I don't believe in second chances for those I fight."

"You hypocrite...your entire existence is a second chance...I knew that you are not the true Jeanne d'Arc. You could never match up to her."

"...All evil is here. The time for revenge has come! This is the roar of my soul that was polished by hatred…! La Grondement Du Haine!" Her eyes seemed to burn with fire as flames spread out from under her and disintegrated the beast, as well as Gilles, before multiple stakes materialized and impaled him.

"How do you like it?" she giggled, watching his charred body burn even more.

"Jeanne…." He coughed out, before his life force completely disappeared. Jeanne turned around and began walking away, looking for the exit portal back to the chapel.

"Ah, I can sense it. It's over there. Don't worry, Master~ I'll be right there~"

 **X**

Nobunaga and d'Eon arrived on a stone path near a river, looking to be somewhere in France.

"Well then...what class are you? I didn't get to ask before."

"I'm an Archer. Oda Nobunaga is my true name." She drew her sword.

"Nobunaga...the ruthless conqueror of the far east. Well, almost." Nobu growled at that line.

"Well, as an Archer, you have the advantage. But, I have served multiple generations of the French Royal Family, and so I cannot allow myself to fall here, knowing that I am now in the service of the greatest of all French Kings." Chevalier drew his sword as well.

Nobu summoned multiple rifles that shot at him, but he deflected each one with his sword and ran towards the conqueror. She crossed swords with him, but was pushed back continuously, before getting slashed across the front and jumping away.

'Damn...As an Archer, I'm not as proficient with my sword...My Demon King Noble Phantasm won't really help against him, if he was nothing more than a knight during his lifetime…I'll have to keep using my rifles.'

Sheathing her sword, she summoned more rifles this time and fired them all at once, with Chevalier dancing around wildly, somehow managing to avoid them all. But Nobu took that chance to run up and slash him across the chest, making him fall back onto the ground.

"You Sabers are easy to deal with. You're one of the strongest classes out there, but against an Archer, you're vulnerable. You stick to close combat all the time, and so a few fake outs will undoubtedly injure you." She smirked.

"I wouldn't be so sure." He stood back up and pointed his rapier up, bringing it to his chest and closing his eyes.

"I stake this on my pride. May the Royal Family's Lily be eternal. Fleur de Lys: Gorgeous Splendor of Blooming Lilies!" Jumping up into the air, d'Eon bent backwards, and the shape of a lily appeared behind him, with flower petals falling down onto Nobunaga. She felt her eyes become a bit drowsy before being entranced by the beauty of Saber.

"Wow~" she breathed.

"Indeed. It is a sight to behold, is it not?" He asked, walking up to her and slashing across the front, spilling blood out.

"Gah…" She tried to jump backwards but couldn't, only succeeding in steps. Chevalier continued to casually walk forwards, delivering blow after blow unto her before she fell to her knees, not knowing what was going on.

"The Noble Phantasm I just employed bewitches my targets, and makes them enamored with me so that their strength, endurance, agility, and reaction times all drop. It's extraordinarily easy to fight you now."

"Fleur de Lys: Sword Dance of Falling Lilies." Chevalier pierced through Nobunaga's chest with his rapier, then swiftly removing it and swiping to the side to disperse the blood, sheathing it at his waist.

"Nothing is ever set in stone, Demon Conqueror. Class factors in, but that does not determine who the winner is. Even a Saber can defeat an Archer if they have the right abilities. You would do well to remember that the next time you're summoned." He turned on his heel and began walking away.

"Where the hell...do you think you're going? We're not finished yet…"

"You should be dead…!" Chevalier spun around, staring into eyes raging with fire.

"I've kept you waiting…! Demon King of the Sixth Heaven!" Their surroundings changed, and they were in the flaming wasteland of Sengoku Period Kyoto. Nobu's wounds began to heal.

"What is this place?"

"This is one of my Noble Phantasms, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. It is a reality marble of the manifestation of what the people thought of me. In this space, everything is under my control. Any servants I bring in here will be disintegrated the higher their divinity."

"I am the furthest thing from a divine spirit."

"Yes, I know. So this will not do much to you. But, it is my space, and as such, I control what happens here. My parameters are no longer weakened. And any injuries I sustain will heal faster. Now then...let's see you dodge this. Three Thousand Worlds!" Her hoard of guns appeared by her side and all fired at d'Eon, who wasn't able to dodge all of them, and was continuously shot. Nobunaga took the chance to run up and slice him in half, sending him back to the Throne. Undoing her Noble Phantasm, she appeared back in Versailles, and then went through the portal back to Aachen.

 **X**

"Are you really sure about this? You're not much of a fighter, Florence."

"I'll be okay, Master." Florence went off into a portal with Robin Hood, appearing in a forest.

"Ah, Sherwood Forest. My home. Well then, you're a Berserker if I remember correctly?"

"Yes."

"Then this should be fun." He grinned.

"If you are Robin Hood, then I believe I owe you a debt of gratitude. I am from the British Empire, and as such, you are considered a folk legend of sorts in our country."

"A debt of gratitude? All I did was steal from the rich and give to the poor."

"And that's precisely why we owe you. You helped to balance the unfairness in the country's economy and social structure at that time."

"Ah. I see now. Tell me fair maiden, what is your true name?"

"Florence Nightingale. I was a nurse during the 19th century."

"Ah yes, our leader told us about you. You're called the Angel of Crimea, and are considered the mother of modern medicine."

"I do not care for those titles. All I need is to heal everyone who requires it."

"You'll be needing it yourself soon." He aimed his crossbow at her and fired a few shots, as she dodged them by hiding behind a nearby tree.

'She's a powerful healer, so she'll be able to eliminate any poison I inject into her rather quickly. But I'm sure doing so will continuously drain her magic power reserves. So then the answer is simple.' Hopping across the trees, he aimed his crossbow at her and fired arrows dipped in poison at her. Her eyes widened as she once again tried to hide to avoid them, but was instead hit by one of them, with her sleeve showing a purple stain.

'Poison…' She looked at her arm and forcefully pulled the arrow out, ripped her sleeve off, and began sucking out the poison at the point of impact and spitting it out again.

"You're quite adept at anatomy, aren't you?" He chuckled, dashing across to in front of her again, and fired multiple times, again hitting her.

"But you see, you're not fast enough to take out that much poison as quickly as you need to, right?" She winced, healing herself with Nursing of Steel to prolong her consciousness.

"You're not fast enough to defeat me." He ran over and pulled out a small knife, slashing at her, as she kept stepping back and avoiding his strikes. Grabbing his hand and knocking the knife out of it, she kicked him back against a tree, and quickly took her pistol out, firing a few shots. He fired his crossbow in retaliation, splitting the bullets apart, then jumping back.

"It seems that you do have a fair amount of strength, after all." Robin Hood winced, placing a hand against the bruise on his stomach.

"I may be a healer first and foremost, but I am still a top class Berserker, and so I must have basic combat knowledge."

"'Basic combat knowledge?' Haha...that kick was a hell of a lot stronger than basic combat…"

"You are also an Archer, and most Archer class servants are not so good at close combat."

"Very astute. Yes, you'd be right about that. As a matter of fact, I believe the only Archer that is proficient in it is that nameless red one that nobody knows."

"..." Nightingale took her pistol out again and fired a few shots, while Archer once again tried to dodge them, but was hit in the arm by one of them, wincing as he jumped away for cover behind a tree.

'She's pretty good, actually…If I'm not careful, I could be defeated…'

"Ugh!" Robin Hood's eyes widened as he heard Nightingale groan then fall over. He looked out from behind the tree, seeing her on the ground, now covered in purple blotches. Her skin seemed to be turning pale.

'The poison's finally taking effect. This is my chance!' He dashed out so that he had a clear view of her and aimed his crossbow.

"This arrow, from my grave...tree of burial, hone your fangs. Yew Bow!" His crossbow began to shoot out roots that surrounded her, and formed a giant tree that eventually withered and bursted apart, leaving her covered in plants and poison.

"It seems like I won." Archer smiled, panting, and walking away.

"...Treatment, start. I will abstain from everything that is harmful and everything that is poisonous. I will stop them with all my strength and guide everybody to happiness! Nightingale Pledge!"

Archer stopped and turned around, stunned at seeing the giant white upper body of a nurse holding a sword. Swinging it downwards, he braced himself, but the damage never came. Instead, Berserker stood back up, now completely healed, with no signs of poisoning anywhere.

"What did you do?"

"I made this a safe zone."

"So we can't get hurt." He scoffed, aiming his crossbow at her again and firing. Only no arrows came out. The weapon wasn't working.

"What…?! Damn…" He grabbed a throwing knife from his belt and was getting ready to toss it at her, but it didn't happen. He felt himself drop it.

"What is this?!"

"I told you, it's a safe zone. My Noble Phantasm, Nightingale Pledge, negates all toxicity and hostility in the area, disables all weapons and Noble Phantasms, and heals any poison and other ailments. Swords will fall from your hand, guns jam and do not shoot, bombs do not explode, Magecraft does not work, and Noble Phantasms' true names are not released. Your crossbow and knives will not fire and slash any longer. So you're only left with close combat." She smiled for the first time, and he gritted his teeth frustratingly. She ran up to him and began to punch and scratch at him. He tried to block the strikes, but her strength as a Berserker overwhelmed him, and she was able to knock him back through multiple trees, defeating him and sending him back to the throne.

"Now, to get back to Master." She noticed the portal open, and went back through it.

 **X**

"Where would we be now, then…?" Nero looked around, finding many old stone buildings, yet being completely abandoned and covered in grass.

"Ah. This is my homeland of Troy. So this is what's become of it, huh?" Hector sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"That's right. You said your name was Hector right? That means you're the heroic Trojan prince that fought against Achilles, as my Praetor said."

"That would be me. But I so despise the thought of being a hero. I never even wanted to fight in the war in the first place." he yawned lazily.

"So you didn't want to become a Heroic Spirit either, I take it?"

"Not really. To be honest, I didn't think my actions were worthy of me becoming a servant. After all, you're far more famous than I, delirious Emperor of Rome." Her eyes narrowed angrily.

"But I suppose there are some forces that are beyond our control. And so we had no choice in the matter. The Holy Grail is omnipotent. It decides what should be and what shouldn't. Whether we become Heroic Spirits or not is not something that we can forge ourselves."

"You think so? I happen to disagree with you." She smirked, summoning her sword and swinging it to the side, making the grass sway in the breeze.

"Oh? Enlighten me. I'd very much like to hear this."

"You chose to go out onto the battlefield that day. Despite not wanting to, you chose to go out and fight, and become a hero. The same way I began my reign as a much loved and popular Emperor."

"I see. But you would not have been crowned as Empress had your family not been royalty, or had they been removed from their position of power. Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The first five Roman Emperors, that the grail gave me knowledge of. Three of you were good, but the two that were not are considered to be two of the worst rulers in history."

"Hm….you have a point. But it matters little now. The Roman Empire has been gone for 1600 years, and my family has not ruled for two millennia. The grail determined that we were worthy of becoming Heroic Spirits, and that we could continue living as such when we were summoned. And now that we are, and are standing before one another…"

"It's time to fight?"

"It's time to fight!" She confirmed, rushing towards him. Hector sighed and blocked her strike with his lance, but was getting pushed back.

'She's a higher rate Heroic Spirit than I am. Plus she has the advantage class wise...this is going to be such a pain…!' He knocked her away and retracted the hilt of his weapon, turning it into a sword, surprising Nero.

"You can change weapons?"

"Yeah. I was always a man of the spear, and I received this sword as a gift one day. I decided to make some modifications to it, and so it is both a sword and a lance. Durindana Spada!" He ran up to her and slashed, and though she blocked it, she felt herself go flying, crying out.

"The ultimate unbroken sword. There is nothing that can block this weapon except for Rho Aias. But that technique's user is not immortalized as one of us. You won't be able to defend against it, Mad Empress." He gave her his signature lazy grin again and ran after her, slashing again. She imbued her sword with fire and blocked it, once again able to overpower him.

"You're not bad." She complimented as they landed across from each other. "As far as Lancers go."

"You're also impressive. Though I could tell that you were not the strongest of your group. That white haired beauty's magic power is outrageously strong. I'm lucky I'm not fighting her." he chuckled.

"It doesn't matter if you're fighting her or not. You're still going to lose. I'm going to finish this in one strike so that I can get back to Hayashi. Open the gate! The curtain to the solo stage draws! Behold my talent! Listen to the thunderous applause! Praise it! The Golden Theater! Laus Saint Claudius!" She stabbed her sword into the ground, but her materialization didn't work. What appeared was the remains of her now underground theater, not the original architectural masterpiece.

"Wh-What?!" she screamed, looking around at her failed Noble Phantasm.

"This is your Noble Phantasm? It looks ruined."

"I….b-but I don't….!"

"It looks like I held my breath for nothing. Let me show you a real Noble Phantasm." His closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at her with a newfound determination.

"Time to get serious…" He extended the hilt of his blade, turning it back into its spear form, and pulled his arm back, aiming at her.

"Target confirmed. Angle set. Durindana! Fly away!" He launched the weapon at her like a javelin, and though she held her sword out in front of her, it smashed against it and broke it in two, continuing through and impaling her, sending her flying backwards into a wall along with an explosion.

"Well, I guess this old man won again…" he sighed, rubbing his head, walking over and taking Durindana out of her.

"Hey. Are you alive?" He tapped her cheek lightly, but she was unresponsive.

"I guess not. Oh well. Too bad. I have the feeling that you could have won, if only your powers were at their peak." He walked away slowly and casually.

'Not again...I let myself lose again...how can I ever...be of use to Hayashi….if I….?'

"Hey, Nero."

"Huh…?" She looked up slowly, seeing Hayashi standing in front of her just like last time.

"Praetor? How are you...here?"

"I'm not. Not really. But after what happened in Rome, I left an ethereal image of myself in your mind if something bad ever happened again, so I could help." He extended his hand, healing her with magic.

"Thanks…"

"No problem. Now to address your situation."

"My...Noble Phantasm didn't work. All that manifested was what we saw in Rome."

"I see. Well, that's because when you're thinking of your Domus Aurea, you now think of the ruins that we saw."

"I see…"

"I don't blame you. It's hard to see, the remains of you once glorious empire."

"It meant that my legacy meant nothing to the country. They tried to get rid of everything that belonged to me or reminded them of me…"

"...Nero, what is a Noble Phantasm?"

"A Noble Phantasm?"

"Yes."

"Well...by definition, it's our strongest abilities. It's often something deeply connected to our true names."

"Right. In Altera's case, it's an object, her sword. For Jeanne, it's the flag that she rallied her country behind, as well as the sword of St. Catherine, one of her treasured artifacts. For Florence, it's her desire to have no bloodshed anywhere near her, to be able to heal all ailments and cease all warfare. For Nobu, it's her arsenal of weapons and her people's vision of her, and for Katou, it's using a powerful attack that reveals her hidden identity as a mechanical doll, as well as an assassination technique that showcases her mastery as a ninja. So what is yours?"

"Mine...It's the greatest achievement of my reign. I built it not just to enjoy it myself, but to prove to my subjects the importance of music and culture by having theatrical performances. It represented my ideals at the peak of my rule, to share the imperial lifestyle with those who could not afford to. It's...my love for Italia and for this world."

"Then it doesn't need to stay ruined like this. Your love for this world should be everlasting. And so it doesn't matter if it's torn down, you should be able to rebuild it. Even if you saw what became of it, you can still picture it and manifest it in its original glorious form. Perhaps even greater. After all, this is your theatre, Nero. Build it as you see fit. Make it a true masterpiece."

"Hayashi...thank you." She smiled.

"No problem." He smiled back before disappearing. Nero picked up her broken sword and looked off into the distance, where Hector was searching for the exit back to Aachen.

"Make it even greater...huh?" She used magic to reform her sword, and enhance it to a new silver version. Running off to Hector, he was taken by surprise as she slashed him across the front, knocking him to the ground.

"Damn...you startled me...how are you still alive…?" he coughed.

"Master healed me. And told me how to beat you."

"Huh? I don't see him anywhere…"

"Don't worry about it. But I know how to win." Her magic power surged, and she plunged her sword into the ground, activating her pseudo reality marble, only this time, instead of appearing inside the theater, they appeared in the middle of an enormous horizon spanning ocean. A massive object suddenly burst out from under Nero, as she stood atop of a new theater, crafted from white marble, with golden pipe organ cannons lining the sides of it, and a massive statue of herself portrayed as a goddess clad with wings and sword atop at the center.

"Destroyed and rebuilt better than before! Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theatre rises from within the sea- Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the Illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theatre! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" The cannons began to charge with purple light, before firing all at once with a stream of purple light that rained down on Hector.

'I can't dodge all of this. I guess this is it for me...But I guess I should try to take her down while I have the chance…' He stood up and charged his spear again.

"Fly away! Durindana!" Once again, his lance ignited and he shot it through the air, beelining straight for Nero.

"I'm afraid not. Fax Caelestis!" She swung her sword in a circle before slicing upwards, launching a wave of fire that incinerated the weapon and stopped it from hitting her.

"So this old man lost…at least...I can sleep now…" he laughed, letting himself be blown up by the lasers from her new Noble Phantasm.

"I promise to repay you, Praetor." Nero pledged, smiling, as she undid her illusion and went out the appearing exit portal.

 **X**

'A Rider class...this matchup will be easy.' Katou thought to herself, standing opposite of Saint George.

"I can read your facial expression. It's not going to be as easy as you think."

"Hm. If I remember correctly, you said your true name is Saint George?"

"Yes. You've heard of me?"

"Vaguely. Being from the far east and being made as a karakuri doll, I had limited knowledge of history of other regions of the world. On top of that, I was alive during Japan's Sengoku, or Warring States Era. As such, education was not promoted at the time, and the only knowledge that mattered was combat and military tactics. Something that I had, of course, but still...I would have liked to learn of your legend."

"Perhaps I could teach you sometime, when we go back to the throne. But for right now, we stand on opposite sides, and we must fight in accordance with our masters. So prepare yourself, Assassin. Ascalon!" Georgios summoned his sword, a long blade with a black hilt, and ebony and copper line going along the length of it. A copper etching of a dragon lay at the head, near his hands. He ran towards her and drew it back, preparing to slash. But, she teleported backwards to gain some distance, and then sped past him, slashing through his armor with her arm blades.

"Damn...she is strong…" Rider cursed.

"You underestimated me. You said it would take longer than I thought? I don't think so." Landing again, she spun around and shot bullets from her fingers, Georgios slashing horizontally to deflect them.

'I can't waste any more time with her. Every attack counts!' Holding his blade in front of him, he began a chant.

"Let me show you! This is the truth of my blade! Thou dragon with sin! Ascalon!" He dashed up to her and sliced three times, managing to cut her, damaging some of her hydraulics. Grasping her arm, she jumped away.

"Not yet. Abyssus Draconis!" Grabbing his mantle and tossing it onto her, it flashed in light before disappearing, and Rider showed no sign of stopping.

"Interfectum Dracones!" Holding Ascalon out in front of him, it glowed brightly before firing a projectile of light that made a huge explosion when it reached her.

"And that is the end of that." He breathed, tired from using three Noble Phantasms successively. However, he was then slashed away by her again, and this time, she fired rockets that exploded on impact, heavily damaging him as he fell to the ground.

"It's time to finish this." She exhaled calmly, her arm blades coming out again, and ready to charge at him.

Slowly standing back up again, he braced himself.

"Black Arts Decapitation Method: Moonflower." She dashed at him with ungodly speed, slicing outward.

"Bayard!" St. George called upon his final Noble Phantasm, his mount Bayard, the Phantom War Horse. As she went past him, it seemed that her attack was completely nullified, as nothing happened.

"Bayard here can nullify a lethal attack once! You shouldn't have announced 'decapitation'."

"And you shouldn't get overconfident. Mechanical Illusionary Art: Bull Swallowing." While in midair, she turned around and placed one hand over the other, as both began to rotate and released a massive burst of wind energy that sucked in his horse and obliterated it.

"Gh-!"

"And now is the end. Youjutsu Zanhou: Yuugao." Doing the same thing that she normally did for her final attack, she sliced him into five pieces, representing the five petals of a moonflower, before he disappeared and went back to the throne.

"Perhaps if I said it in my native language, you would not understand what I had intended to do." She winced at the damage he had done with Ascalon, and went through the exit portal.

"I'll have to have Master fix me up…"

 **X**

Walking through the portal, Altera found herself in an old German town, feeling slightly nostalgic.

"Ah. This is the town where I am from." Siegfried looked around, then refocused his gaze onto the warrior in front of him.

"Hm. I do not remember this place. Where are we?"

"I believe it's called the Netherlands today. In my time, it was part of the Holy Roman Empire though."

"I see…" She looked around, remembering similar looking villages when she pillaged the Roman Empire.

"No matter. It's time to fight." She looked over at the other two. Siegfried nodded at Leonidas, who took the front position and readied his shield. Siegfried readied his blade.

'One blocks my attacks while the other fights me. Simple.' She readied her weapon, and Siegfried rushed towards her, the two of them beginning to clash weapons over and over. But it was clear that Altera's strikes had more weight and power behind them, knocking him back a few times. The next time she went for it, Leonidas stepped in and blocked her attack, throwing her off balance, with Siegfried then jumping up and slicing her, making her flip backwards to gain some distance.

'Damn it...that shield needs to be taken care of. But if I focus on him, the other one is just going to keep attacking me. Meanwhile, if I focus on the Saber, the other one will just keep blocking my strikes. I need to off them both at the same time.'

She stepped backwards, holding her blade out in front of her.

"I will destroy the target. I won't take life. Only destroy your civilization. Photon Ray!" Rainbow light gathered and swirled around both her and the weapon, and she leapt towards them, appearing as a shooting star.

"Lancer." Siegfried looked at him, jumping behind the Spartan General-King. He stuck his lance into the ground and held his shield with both hands, slamming it onto the stone terrain.

"This is Sparta! Thermopylae Enomotia!" Behind him, the spirits of his legendary 300 spartan warriors appeared, holding up their shields again, making a massive protective force that stopped her when she slammed into him. Despite her sword continuing to emit energy, it rattled against his Noble Phantasm, not being able to break through.

"You cannot stop us!" He yelled, swinging his shield to the side to parry her and make her fall back.

"Now return it!" He commanded, making the soldiers all rally with war cries, pointing their swords at her, which sent her energy blast back at her. She held her sword out in front, trying to absorb it, but couldn't take it all, injuring her and blowing her back through a building.

"Ha! You cannot break through our defenses with a Noble Phantasm of that level!" Leonidas bellowed. Altera slowly got up onto her feet, walking out again. She was wounded, but nothing that would hinder her movements.

"'A Noble Phantasm of that level?' Enlighten me." Standing back up, and his soldiers disappearing, Leonidas narrowed his eyes at her from under his helmet.

"My Noble Phantasm, Thermopylae Enomotia, is the reenactment of my 300 warriors that I took with me to the Battle of Thermopylae. We are able to block any Noble Phantasm of Anti-Army rank and below, and redirect the absorbed damage to our opponent afterwards."

Silently, Altera tosses her sword into the air and catches it by the blade, pointing the hilt towards the sky. Firing a red laser from it, multiple magic circles began to form, a massive amount of energy gathering.

"What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.

"I knew you Spartans were very direct and honest types. If I asked you about your move after you'd already used it, you would explain it to me. If I can't stop you with an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, then I'll just have to use an Anti-Fortress one. Teardrop Photon Ray!" Pointing the blade at the sky then lowering it towards him, a massive blue column of lightning shot down towards the warrior.

"Thermopylae Enomotia!" He once again activated his Noble Phantasm, but this time, the 300 spartans were annihilated, and Leonidas' armor was blown off of him. Even Siegfried was knocked away from the shockwave. When the smoke cleared, Leonidas stood up, trembling at her display of strength. His helmet was now broken, so he wore no upper body armor, and had a red and yellow kilt of sorts on his lower body. His shield was cracked and fell apart in two pieces.

"Your true name...what is it?"

"Altera. Although I am more commonly known as Attila, King of the Huns."

"I see. I am not as familiar with you as others are, as you did not exist yet in my time. But I have heard of you on the Throne. You are the King of Combat and Destruction, no?"

"That would be me."

"You and I are exact opposites of each other. My life was lived to serve and better my nation. Yours was to pillage and burn to the ground."

"And yet I am seemingly victorious. You are a king as well, so I will tell you the same thing I told the King of Conquerors. A compassionate king makes for a better ruler, but a ruthless king makes for a stronger warrior. I am well aware of your legend, and you were a powerful general and a good king to your people and to Sparta. But I have done nothing but eradicate and ravage since I could walk, and thus, I am granted the title of King of Combat by the Throne. Since you are a Spartan, I assume you will go down fighting. So come, but know that you will find yourself at the end of my weapon."

"I don't have a choice in the matter, do I? If I try to retreat, you will hunt me down anyways. So it's best to go down fighting!" He abandoned his thinking and charged right in like a Spartan would, thrusting his lance at her multiple times, but she kept shifting to the side, dodging them effortlessly. Swinging her blade upwards, she sent his lance spinning into the air and falling into the ground, leaving him unarmed. He went in with his fists, but she kicked him back and stabbed him, just like she said she would.

"So...I lost...after all…I'm sorry...Emperor Charlemagne…" He disappeared along with what was left of his shield and lance.

"Farewell, King Leonidas. Now then, that Saber." Glancing backwards, he had already leapt towards her and slashed downwards, the two crossing swords once again.

"You are as powerful as they say, Etzel." He complimented, landing and taking a few steps back.

"You know my Germanic name?" she asked, her eyes lighting up a bit.

"Indeed. I may be from the Netherlands, but at the time, it was part of the Germanic lands. Would you prefer that I call you that?"

"That or Altera. I like them better than my other one."

"Very well. Shall we commence the battle then, Etzel?"

"Hm. You're the first servant I've met so far that I kind of like. Let's see how you do." She slashed from side to side, and he blocked them relatively successfully, then kicking towards her, but stopped by her own foot.

"Impressive. You're the first one to fully be able to block the force of my swings. This sword is not meant for rapid slashes. It is made for powerful single swings.

"And you would disclose that to me this early in the fight?"

"I find you a worthy opponent. Besides, it does not matter. You are going to lose anyhow." She slashed diagonally across his armor, leaving a mark, but not as much as she thought. Once again standing across from each other, Siegfried looked down before staring at her again.

"Very well then. I'll tell you something as well. One of my Noble Phantasms is this armor. When I killed the Dragon Fafnir, I bathed in its blood, giving me a dragon like body with invulnerability to most weapons. To be able to make a cut this big, you must have either an immense amount of strength, or a certain amount of Divinity."

"I happen to possess both."

"Do you? Ah, that's right, you are the child of Mars, the war god."

"The people believed I was." She lifted her sword and swung it down, the blade extending into a whip, and lashing Siegfried back, surprising him.

"Grgh…! What was that?!"

"You are a Saber, and as such, you are not terribly proficient in long range combat, are you?" She lashed it out again, Siegfried blocking it with his blade, but was still sent reeling to the side.

"Dragon Slayer!" Siegfried used one of his skills, growing long twisting horns out of his head as well as scaled wings from his back.

"When I bathed in Fafnir's blood, I became a dragon, as I said!" Going after her again, he was faster and stronger when he clashed with her sword.

"How interesting...we are similar, you and I." She remarked, slashing him away again and running up, delivering strikes of her own against his blade.

"Oh yeah? In what way?"

"We both have that emptiness inside of us when we fight. We are warriors, and we know nothing else."

"No. I spent my life helping those around me."

"And to do that, you had to fight? Otherwise, you would not be a Heroic Spirit now, would you?" He looked down before his blade was surrounded in a blue light and he knocked her away.

"Let's see how you handle this." He turned the hilt of his blade, making the blue energy shoot up into the sky from the blade. Lightning sparked around them, and he prepared to release it at her.

"The Evil Dragon will fall. All will be separated into light and shadow. The world will now reach the sunset. Collapse- Balmung!" He released it in a massive energy wave, which appeared to engulf her, but when the attack died down, she was nowhere to be found.

"...Teardrop Photon Ray." His eyes widened as he discovered the she stood right behind him, completely avoiding the move.

"I've won." Jumping away, the giant pillar of energy fell onto him, annihilating him. He fell forward, and she walked up to him.

"I'm sorry about this Siegfried. But Master means more to me than you do. You see, when I use Photon Ray, I am actually establishing a connection with Mars. But he detests me, so whenever I try to contact him, he responds by sending that energy blast, his own Photon Ray down to try and kill me. I simply redirect the blast at my opponent, and considering the speed of light, it is nearly impossible to avoid."

"But why...shouldn't he like you? After all you did?"

"That's the problem. I did too much. I sowed so much chaos and destruction throughout the continent that my legend outgrew his. People feared me and not the gods."

"Ha...I never knew...someone who outshone the god of war...you are truly deserving of your title, King of Combat." He smiled at her before disappearing, and she was able to go back to where the others were.

 **X**

Hayashi noticed all of his servants return to him, save for Jeanne.

"Jeanne's not done yet?"

"I'm not sure." Altera answered, stepping forward.

"I know she'll win. But in the meantime…" They turned back to the final three servants. Columbus stood across from him, and Astolfo in the back, still lauding over her king, who remained seated in his throne.

"Katou, help me deal with him. The rest of you, fight those two." They nodded and took their positions.

"I'm afraid I can't let you get to His Majesty without getting past me first." Astolfo stepped forward. "I must fulfill my duty as a Paladin." She curtsied to him, and he nodded.

"Let's get this started." Hayashi snapped his fingers, creating a flame at the end of his hand, then punching forward, sending a vortex of flame towards Rider.

"Woah!" He yelled out, dodging the attack.

"Master, he doesn't seem that difficult. Are you sure you wish to fight alongside me? I could most likely handle him myself." Katou mentioned.

"And let you have all the fun? No way, I don't think so." He grinned at her.

"Your Majesty, with all do respect, I thought your plan would have taken place by now." He turned back to Master Saber.

"It will."

"What plan? Arrghhh!" Hayashi fell onto his knees, grabbing his hair.

"Master?!" The others asked, running over to him, concerned, but falling victim to the same fate, save for Katou. They all cried out and grabbed their hair.

"And there we go." He smiled, closing his eyes.

"Goddammit, this splitting headache!" Hayashi yelled out.

"You poor fools. You drank yourselves under the table last night. It's no wonder you're all hungover. Can you really fight like that?" Columbus mocked.

"Damn it...you planned this."

"I did not. One of our leaders did. And it went perfectly." They looked back at Charlemagne, who laughed a bit.

"You see, by having us appear in Monte Carlo, you would gamble and drink. That last round of Blackjack we played, I could see that the next card would make you go over using my foresight, and so I used a bit of mind invasion to make you take an extra hit. Once you lost, you were more likely to drink the night away. And when you all blacked out, we brought you here. How are you going to fight with migraines like that?"

"Well unfortunately for you, I drank all the time when I was alive, and fought all the time as well." Altera said, standing up.

"And migraines are nothing new for me." Nero got up as well.

"And I'm not human. I can't get headaches." Katou confirmed.

"Oh. I guess we forgot about that part." Charlemagne sighed.

"Yes, you did. Two Riders? This must be my lucky day." Katou readied her arm blades.

"That doesn't mean you get both of them." Nero protested.

"You may leave Saber to me. I'd like a good fight today." Altera volunteered, beginning to walk forward.

"Then that Rider is mine." Nero locked eyes with Astolfo.

"Then I suppose I get you." Columbus grinned at Katou, taking out a whip.

"You sick man." Katou said emotionlessly, running towards him.

"Master, are you okay?" Nightingale asked, looking over at him. He didn't respond, only growling.

"Master?" She got up and went towards him, bending down to tend to him.

'Flucticulus Diana.'

"No."

'Do it!'

"I said no!" A burst of red energy blew Florence away, startled from the outburst.

"What's wrong with him?" Columbus asked, lashing out to Katou, who sliced the whip in half.

"Rider, are you an idiot? Remember what Avenger told us about him." Saber chastised.

"Ah yes, some of his power was still within the boy. How unfortunate for him." He took out a rifle next and fired towards Assassin, who dodged and fired rockets towards him.

"Shouldn't we do something? We can't let him get too out of control, right?" Astolfo asked, clashing with Nero's sword with her own lance.

"For now, don't worry about it. It looks like he's simply trying to fight it. I'd like to see how well he can control his madness." Charlemagne remained seated as he blocked one of Altera's blows with his sword, actually being able to push her back a bit.

"Nobu, help me calm him down!" Florence called out, the two going and trying to hold him down. But all Hayashi could see was Caligula calling out to him, telling him to do what he did during their fight.

'You cannot defeat them without your powers!'

"I will and I must! Just shut the fuck up!" But he couldn't stop himself, and his eyes turned red with rage, his Avenger powers coming forth.

"Master, you must stop this and remember yourself!" Florence pleaded, but both of them were knocked away. Getting up, he turned to Columbus and glared at him.

"You're in the way of my revenge. Move."

"Your revenge? And what could you possibly want to get revenge on?"

"Angra Mainyu."

"But why? He blessed you with these wonderful abilities. Shouldn't you want to use them?" The next thing he knew, Hayashi was choking him and lifting him off the ground.

"How dare you. These powers are what slaughtered those people. They are the reason my family is dead! THEY ARE THE REASON I KILLED MY SISTER!" He threw Rider onto the ground and grabbed the rifle he was using, shooting one of his legs.

"Damn it!" He grabbed his sword and stabbed Hayashi.

"MASTER!" All of his servants yelled.

"...Columbus, get out of there!" Charlemagne yelled. Hayashi was unaffected by the attack, and his wound healed quickly with the continuously active dark magic. Aiming the rifle for his head, he pulled the trigger again and Columbus was sent back to the Throne.

"Astolfo, do something." Charlemagne ordered.

"I got it." She responded, taking out a book and opening it. "Casseur de Logistille." A large red shield made of magic appeared, and she sent it towards him, passing through his body.

"That should have done it." She readied her lance to fight him again.

"That should have done what? Prevented me from using magecraft? Sorry to say, but…" He raised his hand to her, firing a red blast of magic energy that sent her flying into the wall.

"I could tell that that Noble Phantasm of yours was trying to take away my powers. These powers I have are not just magecraft, they are pure magic. Ancient magic, Angra's Magic. Your book can only take away magecraft. I'm afraid there's no way to deprive me of this." He began walking towards her until Charlemagne stepped in front of him.

"Out of the way. I'm saving you for last."

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen." Hayashi growled and punched towards him, but Saber sidestepped and slashed him across the front before kicking him away.

"Damn it." He cursed as his wounds healed and he stood up. The French King looked around at the others as Astolfo stood up.

"I know this isn't ideal, but let's join forces to get him out of that state. Afterwards, we can go right back to normal."

"Why would we do that?" Altera asked. "He seems to have more control over it this time, as he's not attacking indiscriminately. And with power like this, it won't take that long until you're both defeated and sent back to the Throne."

"Who's to say he won't attack you after we're beaten? He's after revenge. And nothing will stop him from getting to that goal. Not even you."

"Altera, we should listen to him. I don't want my Praetor to suffer like this!" Nero looked at her with sad eyes.

"We must heal him, in both body and spirit." Nightingale said.

"I know all too well what it's like to want revenge and what it does to a person. Nothing good comes of it. We need to show Master a different path." Nobunaga added.

"Indeed." Katou readied herself.

"What are you five doing, aiding them? Don't you understand they're on his side?" Hayashi asked, chuckling to himself. "Are you really going to betray me like this?"

"This is the furthest thing from betrayal, Master. We're helping you." Nobu summoned a few rifles and fired them, but he shifted from side to side, dodging the bullets.

"This is exactly what betrayal is. You of all people should know, Archer." He sped towards her and sent her flying backwards with a kick. She recovered and took out her sword, summoning more rifles and shooting them again.

Crafting a blade made from the red light, he avoided the shots once again and ran towards her, beginning to clash weapons. However, she was overpowered and he ended up cutting her down.

"Don't you know magecraft?" Altera asked Nero.

"A bit. Just the basics."

"Can you use fire?"

"Are you kidding? Fire's my specialty."

"Well then set him on fire."

"WHAT?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"You know he'll recover. It will just stall him for a minute or so to land a few blows."

"Hrgh. Fine." She stuck her sword into the ground and held her hands out in front of her, casting a few fireballs that flew towards him, setting his coat aflame.

"Nero." He turned to her, using a water spell to douse the blaze.

"Yes, Praetor?"

"You lit me on fire."

"Yes I did. You should be more careful."

"I already put it out."

"No, that's not what I meant." She smiled, as Astolfo appeared behind him.

"Trap of Argalia!" She tapped his shoulders and legs with her lance, making him fall over onto the floor.

"My magic circuits...what did you do?"

"They're paralyzed for a bit. You can't use magic for about 10 minutes."

"What?!"

"My king! Do it now!" Charlemagne stood over him and stabbed his sword through Hayashi's chest, rendering him unconscious, and his powers once again leaving him. It didn't take long afterwards for Altera to stab him as well and knock him back through his throne.

"My king!" Astolfo cried out.

"Alliance over."

"What is up with you today?!" Nero yelled at her.

"I haven't had a good fight all day. Leonidas was easy, and just when Siegfried proved to be a match, I beat him too. I'm bored. So Saber's mine." She rushed back over, and the two began clashing weapons.

Nero sighed, looking over at Nightingale.

"Heal them please." She started fighting with Astolfo while Florence healed both Nobu and Hayashi.

"I'll help you." Katou dashed past Astolfo and onto the wall, firing her minigun from her fingers.

"Hippogriff!" She called her mount and got on before it disappeared, not being hit by Assassin's attack.

"What just happened?" Katou asked.

"Behind you!" Nero called out before the beast reappeared and slammed into her, knocking her back to where the others were.

"Ouch...even with the class advantage...I don't think I can move much more today…" she groaned. Florence began to heal her.

"Then just stay here with us. Leave them to those two."

"That's right. I can take her." Nero's sword evolved into its new silver form, and she launched an immensely powerful wave of fire at Rider, who flew up into the air, avoiding it.

"Let's see how this does! La Black Luna!" She picked up her hunting horn off of her belt, and it transformed into a massive brass instrument, looking like a mix of a sousaphone, tuba, trombone, and french horn. Blowing into it, a large sound wave expanded outward, dispersing the flames and hurting Nero's ears.

"Godsdammit, my headache is back…" She cursed.

"Need a hand, Empress?" Altera asked.

"I thought you were busy with him?" She looked over, seeing Altera and Charlemagne clash blades again, seemingly even.

"I will assist if you need it."

"No, I don't. I can take her down myself." After saying so, she stuck her sword into the ground. "Aestus Domus Aurea!" Her theatre was summoned, and she swung her sword in a circle before bringing it in against her chest.

"Sunlight of spring. Dancing of flowers. The fragrant winds of June brush against your cheeks, Blessing beyond the stars. Sing, Fax Caelestis!" She jumped towards Rider, slashing her and landing with her blade into the floor, making her be consumed by fire.

"Astolfo!" Charlemagne called out.

"Don't worry, my king...I'm not finished yet…" She stood up, readying her lance again.

"I'm afraid you're too late. Laus Saint Claudius!" Nero already slashed her again, another pillar of fire engulfing her and making her fall to the ground.

"Damn it!"

"You're fighting me." Altera tried to stop him.

"Get out of my way!" His sword glowed gold and knocked Altera away, startling her. Kneeling down, he grabbed her hand and looked at her worriedly.

"My king...you mustn't get upset...my abilities are nothing compared to yours. You can fight them and defeat them. Do it for both of us…"

"But...what if I can't? I am not the person you say I am, Astolfo. I am just a man who happened to be born during a certain time."

"You shouldn't say that. You are one of the most well known and powerful kings in all of the world and its history. You united almost all of Europe for the first time in three centuries. You were King of the Franks, the Lombards, and the first Holy Roman Emperor. You were a brilliant military leader and tactician, but most importantly, you were a kind soul. You were not a tyrant, and you were loved by your people, especially by us, your closest advisors and friends."

"Astolfo…"

"You and her...you're different." She looked over to Altera. "That woman...she was a major cause of the downfall of the Roman Empire. And you are what rose from the ashes, building a new sovereignty that was better than the old. When you fight her, my king, please, do not hold back, and do not think yourself unworthy to challenge someone such as that. That is my final request."

"...Very well. Thank you for everything, Astolfo. And hey, don't forget. Even if I lose, we can still see each other again at the Throne."

"I'd...like that…" She smiled at him before disappearing. Charlemagne stood up and unsheathed his sword, looking towards the two remaining combatants, ready to fight both of them.

"As she said, I cannot fight you without giving it my all. So in the name of Emperor Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire, Lombardic Kingdom, and Frankish Kingdom, I will defeat you! Joyeuse Ordre!" His sword changed form into a golden longsword, no longer serrated, the same one he got from the Louvre.

"To fight the man who rebuilt everything I destroyed...how exciting…" Altera grinned, clearly happy.

"Indeed. If you are the man who brought the glorious Roman Empire back to fruition, then I owe you a great debt of gratitude. But I likewise would like to see your abilities, and I'm afraid I have to defeat you on my Master's orders." Nero readied her blade.

"Likewise. The King of Combat and Mad Empress." Master Saber ran over to Nero, beginning to clash swords with her.

"Fire and light. Let's see who's is stronger!" She felt herself getting pushed back by his strength.

"It seems like you don't have quite the same skill with a sword that I do!"

"I could wrestle a lion to the ground with my bare hands during my lifetime! I don't need to beat you in swordplay!" She let go of her blade and jumped around onto his back, strangling him.

"Nice...try...Empress…" He choked out, flexing his wrist, summoning two lances that pierced her in the back, making her fall off of him.

"Ow…" She cut them apart with her sword, and ran back at him, the two crossing weapons again. He slashed sideways and she jumped up, flipping over him. As she began swiping from side to side again, he avoided them by stepping elegantly from right to left. As that happened, Altera came in from behind and lunged at him, but he ducked and then jumped up to avoid Nero's sweeping strike.

"You two are not doing so well." he laughed.

"Shut up!" They both yelled in unison, rushing towards him again.

"Not going to work." His blade was able to block their attacks easily, and knocked them off balance again, Charlemagne delivering a powerful kick to Altera's stomach to send her reeling into the wall.

"You'd prefer to fight me?" Nero smirked.

"I'd prefer to get the weakest out of the way first. My fight with her will take more effort than this one."

"Say that again! Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theatre rises from within the sea-!" Nero's pseudo-reality marble activated, and her new, evolved theatre rose from the waves, her standing on top again.

"Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the Illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theatre! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" The cannons fired off all of the lasers, heading straight for him.

"Joyeuse Ordre: Bouclier!" He held his sword up against his torso, creating a dome of golden energy that blocked all of her attacks.

"Éclater!" His shield expanded outwards, dispersing the beams. He then readied his sword and pulled back.

"Joyeuse Ordre: Explosion!" He launched his sword upwards, creating a massive energy wave that engulfed her, breaking the illusion. When they returned to the church, she was face down, unconscious and defeated.

"It seems all that tough talk was just that after all." He looked down at her and brought his sword back down to his side.

"Are you ready now?" He turned to Altera, who was simply sitting there watching.

"Yes. I can't stand it anymore. I can't go home today without having a fight that lasts longer than 5 minutes."

"I see. You are true to your epithet. It seems that you really do enjoy battle just because."

"Not quite. It's not that I enjoy fighting, per se. But I have an emptiness that will never go away, and combat is the only thing that will fill that void. It is all I know, and it is all I will ever know." She pointed her blade at him.

"Oh? How unfortunate. I had heard that you were ruthless when I learned about you, but it seems you truly do not know happiness."

"Happiness? My philosophy is that battle makes a person stronger, regardless of if that makes them happy or not."

"I see. That is a true way of looking at things if I've ever heard one. To get where I was in my lifetime...there was a lot of fighting."

"Of course there was. Humanity has been that way forever. If one is to forge a country, a kingdom, or an empire, they must do so by force. No one will willingly submit themselves to your rule. That's the way the world is, and that's the way it will remain for years to come. You and I are no exceptions. Considering that we're heroic spirits, and two of the more well known ones, we conquered and slaughtered more, much more, than many others."

"Yes. I suppose that's one way of looking at it. But the real importance lies in what you choose to do with your empire. You and I are two very different sides of a coin. On one side is a warrior who fights for the expansion of land, for the thrill of the fight, to sit on a throne where no one will challenge them. Yet on the other side is a leader, a beloved ruler, someone who laughs and cries alongside his people and cares for their well being and helped build up nations that would last for hundreds of years after his death! You and I are similar, yet different. Now let's see how that translates to battle strength."

"I fought two people like you in the past two days, the King of Sparta and the King of Macedonia. Both of them claimed the same thing you just did, yet both still fell to me! Let's find out if you are any different, King of Europe!" Dashing at each other, their swords clashed and released a huge shockwave, the wind blowing the others back. It was back and forth, with Altera blocking and swinging with as much force as possible, and Charlemagne doing the same. He stepped back, making her miss a strike, then stepping forward again and cutting her across the stomach. She kicked him away and ran her finger across the wound.

"Oh? You're the first servant to hurt me since being summoned here. I suppose that in itself means that you are different from the rest." She leapt towards him, slashing over and over again. However, Charlemagne was still able to block them.

"Why don't you use your whip?"

"This a fight between Sabers. And besides, my strikes are stronger like this. Observe. Photon Ray!" She activated her Noble Phantasm and began slashing at him again, but this time was able to overpower him with each slash, knocking him down the hall and speeding after him.

"Joyeuse Ordre: Explosion!" He launched another beam that sent her back the way they came, and Charlemagne ran back, seeing her injured but still alive. Walking over to stand in front of his throne, he placed his sword in the ground and looked at her with a determined expression.

"Père de L'Europe." His already glowing sword produced more light that changed the surroundings, showing Altera a spiritual plane where Charlemagne now stood wearing his original coronation crown as well as a large red and gold cape with fur trim. Surrounding him were numerous people; his Twelve Paladins in the front, Astolfo standing next to him; and many other famous european kings that went on for rows and rows; such individuals were King Louis XIV, Henry IV, Louis XVI, Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis IX, Charles VII, George III, Queen Victoria, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, William the Conqueror, and many others of all European countries and kingdoms after his reign. Before long, the illusion went away, and they were in the same place as before, but when he lifted his sword back up, it was bursting with powerful golden energy, and he still wore the cape and crown.

"That was my other Noble Phantasm, Père de L'Europe, or Father of Europe. It is a manifestation of my legend as the Father and founder of Medieval Europe and all later countries and kings that would be descended from me. It does nothing but unleash my full power as a servant, matching my strength at my peak as a living being. But that being said...I should be more than strong enough to deal with you now." Much faster than before, Charlemagne practically teleported in front of her and slashed again. Altera blocked it but was sent flying even with her Photon Ray activated.

"Damn...what's with that strength?" She ran back towards him and began slashing again, but this time Charlemagne blocked them without having to move. Jumping up and stepping on the hilt of her sword, she was forced to drop it, which allowed him to stab her and then slice her in an X shape across her chest. She spit out blood before falling over. Charlemagne looked down at her condescendingly.

"It looks like I was different after all." Sitting back down on his throne, he sighed and closed his eyes.

…..

Footsteps. He slowly opened them again, looking at all of the people he defeated already. None of them were moving.

"Holy Maiden then?" He looked down the hall, expecting Jeanne to show up. And she did. But not the way he thought.

"You're half right. I'm not a 'Holy Maiden' any longer, I've ascended to a 'Dark Maiden.'" She laughed haughtily, walking past her friends and standing in front of him.

"What happened to you?"

"Well...let's just say I had a revelation. I realized my full potential as an Avenger class servant."

"An Avenger? How amusing. I didn't know someone like you was capable of having an Alter form."

"It is always the purest heroes that have the darkest forms."

"Quite the poet, aren't you? Very well then. You might actually prove to be more of a worthy opponent than the King of Combat."

"I would hope so. I am not a King, but I should be stronger nevertheless." She readied her flag, and Charlemagne pulled his sword back before lunging at her. She sidestepped and slashed him with the spike, surprising him.

'She could keep up with my speed...she's already better than the other one.' He pivoted on his foot and slashed multiple times at full speed, but she blocked each one with her flag, simply stepping back casually. Going back on the offensive, she sliced upwards and knocked the sword out of his hands, then impaled him with the spike.

"Guh…"

"Heh." Stepping on his body and pulling her weapon out forcefully, she put it onto her back and took her sword out. Conjuring dark purple lances, they spun around before stabbing him. Stepping off, she resheathed her sword, and grinned at him.

"And so it seems that you were not ready to fight me after all..."

"Jeanne, wait."

"Who…?" Turning around, Hayashi was now standing again, slowly walking towards her.

"M-Master…? How are you still able to move?" He remained silent, walking up to Charlemagne and taking the lances out of him one by one before picking up her flag and then stabbing him with it, finishing him off. Pulling it out and dropping it he then turned to Jeanne and walked up to her, pulling her sword out of her sheath.

"You should be careful with that, Master. I don't want you to accidentally cut yourself." She teased. He looked at it closely before locking eyes with her.

"Master…? What are you planning to do….?" Still not saying a word, he turned the blade around and plunged it into his own chest.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" She screamed, watching him fall onto his knees, blood pouring out onto his hands.

"Give me back Jeanne…"

"Wh-What?! You stabbed yourself just to bring her back?! She's weaker than I am!" She gritted her teeth.

"I don't care. Give her back…" Dropping the blade, he crawled over to Columbus' rifle, the only thing still left from him.

"Master! Don't you dare!" She began running to him before he used a command seal to make her fall and hold her in place.

"Jeanne. I'm giving you an ultimatum. Either come back, or I shoot myself." He said matter of factly, putting the end under his chin.

"Would you really go so far just to deny me?!" She screamed, horrified.

"I would. Jeanne is precious to me. She is the one I summoned, not you. And if she doesn't come back, then I'll die, and you'll be sent back to the Throne. It's a lose lose for you." He said confidently.

"Then I'll be going back." She looked at him with a serious expression. "My possession doesn't work that way. I can't just give her back."

"I see. Goodbye then." He pulled the trigger.

 **5 Minutes Earlier**

" _We're done."_

" _The hell we are."_

" _I agreed to let you fight Charlemagne, and then you'd give me my body back!"_

" _You should have known better. Ozymandias is right, you are just a naive girl. Why would I let you be the dominant personality when I'm that much stronger and of more use to Master?"_

" _Master doesn't want you to help him. That's not the kind of man he is."_

" _Oh, really? And how would you know?"_

" _Because when Nero lost herself in Rome, despite being stronger, he made her return to normal out of care for her well-being. His own servant-like powers make him stronger, but also more maniacal. And he tries his hardest not to use them, even if the situation may call for it. So seeing you won't make him any happier."_

" _Hmph."_

"Jeanne, wait." She turned around to find Hayashi walking towards her.

"M-Master…? How are you still able to move?" She continued to watch him as he pulled her lances out of Charlemagne and then stabbed him with her flag.

" _M-Master?!" Jeanne screamed._

" _Well well, it looks like you were mistaken after all." Alter smirked._

He walked up to her and took her sword out of the sheath.

"Master, you should be careful with that. I don't want you to accidentally cut yourself." He examined the black blade before looking at her intensely.

"Master? What are you planning to do…?"

" _Master…?"_

Hayashi turned it around and impaled himself.

" _MASTER!"_

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Give me back Jeanne…"

" _Master…..!" Jeanne covered her mouth with her hands, sobbing._

"Wh-What?! You stabbed yourself just to bring her back?! She's weaker than I am!"

"I don't care. Giver her back." He dropped the blade and crawled over to Columbus' rifle.

" _Master, no!" Jeanne shrieked._

"Master, don't you dare!" Jeanne Alter ran after him but fell forward as he used a command spell to hold her in place.

"Jeanne, I'm giving you an ultimatum. Either come back or I shoot myself." He pointed the gun to his chin.

" _MASTER, ARE YOU INSANE?!" She cried._

"Would you really go so far just to deny me?!"

"I would. Jeanne is precious to me. She is the one I summoned, not you. And if she doesn't come back, then I'll die, and you'll be sent back to the Throne. It's a lose lose for you."

Jeanne cried her eyes out, proud that her Master was who she thought he was.

"Then I'll be going back. My possession doesn't work that way. I can't just give her back."

" _Then I'm taking myself back!" Jeanne stood up, emanating golden light from her body._

" _Great, you too?! What are you planning, Saintess?!" Unsheathing her own sword, Jeanne got onto her knees._

" _La Pucelle...you wouldn't dare…"_

" _Then you know what will happen. If I sacrifice myself, then you have no basis of existing, since my body is the catalyst for you. We'll both go out. Give me back my body, and I'll leave you here, and think about switching every now and then for fights. Do you accept these terms?"_

" _As opposed to letting all three of us die?"_

" _Yes. Nobody has to die today. And if you're the Alter version of me, then the most important thing to you is to plunge the world into chaos, isn't it? And how can you do that if you're on the Throne?"_

" _...Very well, Saintess. I'll indulge you for the time being."_ Alter transferred control back to the real Jeanne and remained in their subconscious.

"I see. Goodbye then."

"MASTER, WAIT!" Jeanne sped over to him just as he pulled the trigger and tackled him backwards so that the bullet shot into the ceiling instead. The rifle fell to the floor, and she hugged him tightly, lying on top of him in her white armor.

"Master...don't ever do that again!" she sobbed.

"Then don't become me." He whispered, making her gasp, before he lost consciousness again.

"Master? Master!" Jeanne sat up, looking around at everyone who was defeated.

"I'm alone…"

 **X**

"Hmm…" Ozymandias gave a low grunt, one of his eyes opening.

"What is it?" Angra looked at him.

"Charlemagne and his militia were defeated."

"What?! How?!" Avenger walked over to the two of them. "He should be able to handle them easily!"

"Well, he was. Until Jeanne became an Avenger." Both of them raised an eye.

"How is that possible?" Avenger asked. Angra chuckled.

"Jeanne d'Arc happens to have an Alter form. A form where she was revived after her execution, and sought revenge against the nation for condemning her. How did she come about?"

"She was defeated by Gilles de Rais, but revived in her new form. Similarly, she went back to normal when concerned for her Master's safety."

"So it acted as a split personality instead of a separate servant...how intriguing." Angra put his finger over his lip, thinking.

"In any case, that's another Master Servant that we've lost." Avenger crossed his arms and looked down.

"We can't afford any more chances. I'm going next." He began to walk off.

"Hold it." Angra called out. "I don't know that you should be going this soon."

"And why not? If you want to possess Hayashi, then you might as well get him as soon as you can."

"Not necessarily. I can't fully possess him until two conditions are fulfilled. First, he has to be in full control of the powers I left him, and second is that Solomon has to be done with his experiment. If I possess him before that, then our combined strength won't be as high as it could be. If you capture him and bring him to me now, then he won't be able to master his Avenger side of his own accord."

"So I can fight him to near death, but don't bring him back or kill him?"

"Yes. It's all for the sake of our endgame. Although...servants are often at their strongest when they fight in the area that they originated. Their party is already in France…"

"Don't worry about that. I'm known throughout the world, it doesn't matter where I go, I have some notoriety. Although there is someone on my team that I know will appreciate being taken to their homeland."

"You might have to wait a day or two. Their group was pretty beaten up by Saber." Ramesses called out.

"Then we'll simply wait for them. I have a book I can read while we're there." He grinned, walking off to gather the rest of his allies.

"Master. I have an update for you." Another figure came out from behind them.

"Yes?"

"Progress is slow, but it's coming along. I'd say that the ritual will be ready in about 10 days."

"That long?" The pharaoh asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. To reproduce the conditions of the original method takes a lot of magical energy. In addition, I won't be able to make all seven. Five at the most. Besides the three of us, you can only choose two more who are strong enough to withstand the spell."

"Hm. That is a bit of a setback, but five is enough to deal with Hayashi's team, at least. I imagine I'll end up choosing Berserker and Avenger, provided that nothing unexpected happens to them until then. Thank you."

He bowed to them and went back further into their hideout, disappearing into the darkness.

"At least we know that it's possible." Ozymandias sighed.

"Indeed. But I suppose with someone as powerful and intellectual as the King of Magic leading the project, anything is possible. Soon, we will be strong enough to rule over the entire world, King of Kings."

"Indeed. I can hardly wait."

 **End.**

 **Alright! As I said, a few things. First of all, this chapter is a new record for longest chapter I ever wrote! Previously, it was chapter 16 of One Piece: The Order, which was 50 pages, but this one surpasses it at 66. However, this was also the team with the most amount of servants on it, so I don't think subsequent ones will be as long, even though the fights will be more difficult. If you couldn't tell already, I'm going by region for each team. Chapter 1 consisted of servants from England, chapters 2 and 3 were servants from Italy, and this one is servants from other European countries.**

 **Second, I want to make sure it's clear that Angra Mainyu is the leader of the summoned servants, but is not the Master Avenger. They are two different people.**

 **Third, the next chapter will not go right into the next fight. It will consist of Hayashi's backstory, a lemon with Nero, the introduction and mentioning of a few more servants on the opposing side, and a side story of Emiya and a few helpers carrying out an investigation into the Mage's Association.**

 **Classes start the week after next for me, so these might not be as frequent as usual, but know that I always try to work on them at least once a day.**

 **Thanks!**


	4. Part 1: Humanity

**Songs**

 **Waking Up: Say Hello (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Hayashi and Nero: Sway (Quien Sera) (Dean Martin)**

 **Servants Hanging Out: Necromancer (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Journey on Mesektet: The Great Holy War (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Magic: Ambition (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Infiltration: Chaser! (Requiem for the Phantom OST)**

 **Searching Files: Sieg- Nightmare (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Incident Report: In the Past (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Escape from the Clock Tower: Main Soundtrack (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Phone Call:** **悪・新宿のアーチャー「 ジェームズ・モリアーティ** **[Archer of Evil; Shinjuku; James Moriarty] (Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Hayashi's House: I Will Become a Hero! (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Mission Briefing: Confrontation (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Angra Mainyu Summoning: Yonaka ni Kiku to Kowai (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Fighting Faction: Girei [Pain's Theme] (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Possessed: All the World's Evils (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Killing Spree Begins: Invasion (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Hayashi and Koharu: Tsuioku Mezameru Tamashii (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Angra's Speech: Burial (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Hayashi's Travels: Shingeki Vc - Pf 20130218 Kyojin (Attack on Titan OST)**

"Ungh…" Hayashi's eyes slowly opened, sensitive to the sunlight that streamed through the window.

"Master? You're awake!" Jeanne sighed, hugging him tightly.

"What...happened?"

"You passed out. I had to bring you all back here."

"To the hotel? How'd you manage that?"

"I...called for help…"

"You got the public involved? Jeanne, you know we can't do that!"

"What choice did I have? I merely said that you were my friends and that somebody attacked us and fled while we were visiting. They helped us get back here on a medical flight and then an ambulance. I wiped their memories as soon as we were inside and tried to fix you up myself before Nightingale woke up and did the rest."

"Ugh…Please don't do anything like that again...I can't risk them knowing about what we do."

"Okay. But Master, you have to promise me that you won't inflict harm on yourself for our sake either. What were you thinking, trying to shoot yourself?!"

"I cannot promise that. I'm sorry."

"What?! Master! Why?!" He looked away.

"It's not the time for you to know yet." They heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Florence and the others walked in, looking at the two lying in bed.

"Master, are you feeling better at all?"

"Kind of. I still feel hungover though."

"I don't want to see you out of bed for the rest of the day, save for restroom trips." She instructed.

"Alright." He nodded lazily.

"Very well then. You require medicine, so I will go and retrieve it. Though I don't wish to leave you alone…"

"So send one of the others."

"I cannot. It is a special kind and I'd like to make sure that I get the right one. One of you will have to stay here."

"I will." Jeanne volunteered.

"You're the only one who speaks French, you have to go." Hayashi told her. "Actually...Nero, you stay here with me. We owe each other some time from the other night." She smiled sincerely.

"Very well, let's be on our way." Nightingale ordered, walking down the hall with the others, Jeanne reluctantly following. She looked back just before she closed the door.

'Why can't you promise me that? Hayashi...' She shut it completely and followed her comrades, leaving Hayashi with Nero, who sat down on the bed, switching clothes into black yoga pants and a silk red blouse, as well as taking the ribbon out of her hair, letting it fall down against her back.

"I'm sorry we had to cut yesterday short."

"It's alright. We had work to do anyways. But now that the others are gone…" She smirked, rolling over on top of him.

"Hehe…I love you. There's something I never thought I'd say."

"Oh, come on, Praetor. You never thought you'd say that to me?"

"I never thought I'd say it to anybody. I've yet to find the right girl, and after the incident, I didn't really bother checking anybody out…"

"But I brought you back from your loneliness?" she asked, kissing his neck.

"I guess you did...yeah." He reached over to the radio and played some music.

"What's that for?"

"To drown out the noise for our neighbors. And for a bit of romance." He grinned, pulling her down to him and beginning to make out with her.

"Mmmm….Hayashi…" she moaned in between breaths. He reached around behind her and took her socks off first, then hooking his thumbs inside of her pants and sliding them down, Nero complying. Assisting him with the clothing article and tossing them onto the floor. She unbuttoned her blouse as well, her bountiful breasts spilling out. Throwing the garment next to the others, the only item of clothing that she was currently wearing was a red thong.

"Beautiful…" Hayashi whispered, beginning to suck and lick her succulent nipples.

"Hayashi…" she moaned. She lifted the covers up and took off his pants and underwear, beginning to give him a blowjob.

"Master, have you ever had sex before?" she giggled.

"Of course. I used to date a girl named Florentia a few years ago. We were pretty intimate."

"What happened?"

"She…" Both of them stopped, looking at each other. Hayashi's eyes slowly lowered downward, saddened.

"She's...not here anymore…" Nero left it at that, but had a feeling that she knew what had happened. Deciding not to dwell on sad memories, she took off her underwear and lowered herself onto him.

"Let's make you feel better then." She smiled.

"I don't need to worry about making you pregnant, do I?"

"Of course not! We're spirits given physical form! I died a long long time ago, Praetor. I can't have children anymore."

"Did you have any?" Beginning to bounce up and down, she looked off in the distance for a moment.

"I had one. Claudia Augusta, a daughter. Unfortunately, she died of illness when she was only 3 months old."

"I'm sorry. Did you ever want more?"

"Well, I always wanted another daughter. But unfortunately, my mind had already gotten worse over the past few years, and was going to go even further downhill. I didn't really think about kids after that."

"I see. I never really thought about it myself." He grabbed Nero's giant tits and began fondling and massaging them.

"Master, I want to switch." she cried, getting off and instead going back on with her big ass. Bouncing up and down again, Hayashi grabbed her firm rear and looked up for a moment, thinking.

"I guess I'd want a daughter too, if I had the opportunity."

"If you had the opportunity?" she laughed.

"Well, you know what I mean. I might look for love later on in life, depending on how long…nevermind."

"How long...what?" She asked, stopping for a second and glancing behind her.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Really." Nero wanted to probe deeper but figured that it wouldn't be much help. He'd probably just use a command seal anyway if worst comes to worst. She started again, remaining on top since he couldn't move that well yet.

"Is this helping you feel any better, Master?" she giggled.

"I mean...I can't really move, but it feels good." he chuckled. She smiled at him, continuing to slide up and down his erection, her cheeks slapping and jiggling each time they hit his lap.

"Nero, wait. I should try to move a bit on my own."

"Oh? Alright then." She got off and bent over, sticking her ass towards him. Hayashi groaned as he slowly lifted himself up and got onto his knees, inserting himself into her and beginning to thrust.

"Aaahhhhh~~~~~Master~~~~~~!" She cried out in ecstasy. Hayashi kept slamming into her, happy that he could be able to take the object of his affections so soon.

"I'm almost there!" They yelled at the same time before laughing. Nero turned around and laid down, and Hayashi went back to fucking her in her pussy, fondling her breasts and kissing her all at the same time. Speeding up and wrapping his arms around her, they both finished, climaxing on each other and lying back.

"Ahhhh, Hayashi~" She sighed.

"Nero…" He slowly stood up and went into the bathroom, starting the shower up. She joined him, and they washed the fluids off of their bodies.

"Hey, Nero…" He slid down onto the floor, resting his arms on his knees.

"Yes?" She sat down across from him, curious.

"Promise me you won't tell any of the others. Under any circumstance."

"...Okay." He sighed.

"I feel like I should tell you, and I trust you enough that you should know. I'm going to tell you what happened three years ago."

 **X**

"They've left?"

"Yes. He took six of them with him and went off to Romania."

"Because of Lancer?"

"Yes. In fact, they're going to take refuge in Bran Castle, his old home."

"I thought it was in ruins?"

"No, that's the other one. Cachtice. It's in Slovakia."

"Ah." Ozymandias softly growled as he felt a familiar pair of arms come up from behind and wrap around him, softly caressing his chest.

"Cleopatra...we've been over this." he sighed, looking up into her twinkling eyes. "I will never love anyone other than Nefertari."

"Oh, come now, my king. It's not everyday that a girl is summoned back to life and has the chance to sleep with her country's most powerful and fabled ruler." She smirked at him seductively.

"Ugh. You're nothing more than a whore. No wonder why Egypt collapsed under your rule." He stood up forcefully, her hands falling off of him. She took a step back, looking hurt.

"Ouch. Too soon." Nitocris, who had initiated the conversation, shook her head.

He walked off to the burial chamber, leaving the two former Pharaohs alone.

Amazingly, the servants' hideout happened to be QV66, the tomb of Queen Nefertari in the Valley of Queens, and the largest tomb of all of them. Unfortunately, it had been looted back in ancient times, with only about two thirds of the artwork being the only valuable pieces left. The tomb was rediscovered in 1904, but then closed off to the public for a time, beginning in 1950. In addition to water and bacterial damage that threatened the state of the paintings, the humidity of visitors' breath added to the issue. Restoration work began in the late 1980s, and was completed in the early 90s, where the tomb was declared open to the public again, but access was soon restricted, being monitored by the institution that performed the restorations, and being limited to 150 people at a time, as well as for private tours.

When Gilgamesh was absorbed by the Grail, Angra gathered as much strength as he could before summoning himself back into the world in his servant form. Needing powerful allies, the first place he went was to this tomb in order to get Nefertari's necklace, the catalyst to summon her husband as a servant. Of course, he was angry that Angra came to the burial site, as it was being desecrated yet again, but then was offered an alliance, as well as to personally guard the tomb as a base of operations to keep tourists and other visitors out. A feat that was pulled off quite easily, as he merely used his Divinity and a bit of magic to send them away without realizing what had happened.

"You're not just following him around all day, are you?" Nitocris asked the former queen.

"No! Of course not! But with both Alexander and Caesar gone, I find myself with little to do. The three of us are the remaining three servants from Egypt. I'm trying to stick with my own kind." She explained.

"I see. Still though, you should know better than that. Our king is a solemn and loyal man when it comes to romance."

"I suppose so." The two left and went into one of the other rooms, where many of the servants were, biding their time with each other.

"So you struck out again?" a feminine voice called out to the Egyptian Queen. Looking over to one of the benches, Cleopatra saw a beautiful mature woman wearing a purple samurai outfit, with long sweeping purple hair. She had a very pronounced and womanly figure, and enormous breasts.

"Raikou." She said calmly, but with a bit of disgust hidden in her tone.

"You know, I would have a better chance than you. After all, when comparing my body to yours…" she cooed.

"Like he would ever. With someone from a foreign land? You must be joking." She sneered.

"If he were going to go for anyone, it would be my Master." They looked over across the room and found Cu Chulainn.

"Oh really?" They asked.

"Indeed. Master has the perfect body. There's such a thing as being too big you know, Raikou." He grinned over at the Japanese woman, who blushed and curled up.

"I should know, since I was able to bed her in my lifetime. And she's more mature than both of you anyways." He cackled, remembering his time with her.

"You are all mistaken." another voice giggled. Everyone now looked over to Irisviel, who sat next to her beloved.

"If he were going to be with anyone, it would have to be Queen Nitocris. She is the closest to him, and is also a Pharaoh, just like him." she smiled at the girl, making her blush.

"But that's exactly what I am." Cleopatra refuted.

"And you brought upon your kingdom's ruin. She did not." Kiritsugu replied, standing up.

"And where are you going?" Irisviel asked. He remained silent, heading off into another room, Iri jumping up and following him. Gathering three other servants, they went into one of the empty rooms of the tomb.

"Something about all this doesn't feel right."

"What doesn't feel right?" Yan Qing asked.

"This whole plan. Angra Mainyu's goal is to possess this Hayashi Tsukamoto's body, right? But why? And why him? We have enough power to take down the entire Mage's Association, right? Wouldn't he want someone who's even stronger, like a Grand Mage, or even the Vice-Director?"

"You know, that does make more sense."

"It's because he was summoned by Hayashi three years ago." Ramesses walked in, joining them.

"What?" Kiritsugu looked at him.

"Indeed. He took over Hayashi's body then as well, but was defeated, separated, and sent back to the throne. When he left, a bit of his power remained inside of his master, and so upon return this time around he wants to get it back."

"Any more you know that we don't?"

"No, that's it. I don't know anything past that." They remained silent for a moment before he spoke up again.

"I feel like he's not telling us everything we should know. And I doubt asking him directly would give us the missing information we desire. But the Mage's Association would have files on this…" he mused.

"You want to break in and investigate?" Arturia asked, a bit surprised.

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere by standing around thinking about it, are we? And besides, we have enough power to get in there and back out. Sherlock, Tesla, and Charlemagne all blindly followed his orders and fought them. But we're different. I want to know why we're fighting against him, and why him specifically. Don't you? After all, it's only right for you to possess all knowledge in the world, isn't it, King of Kings?" Ramesses grinned.

"Very well. I do hope you at least have some sort of plan?"

"Of course." Outside, Ramesses summoned Mesektet, and they all climbed aboard, with him sitting at the back in a throne, piloting it. Beginning to fly through the sky towards London, he informed all of them that going at its fastest, it would still take about 2 hours.

"Now then, your plan." Arjuna brought up.

"Right. Obviously, we don't want to attract so much attention from them, so Assassin and I will go in ourselves and try to avoid any confrontations. If things go wrong, then we'll leave immediately. Archer, I want you to be ready to fire if needed. Iri, I want you to stay here and remain safe. And Lancer, I know this is kind of awkward to ask of you again, but please look after her." She remained indifferent.

"It is not awkward at all. The version of me that you summoned before was not me." She crossed her arms. Kiritsugu nodded.

"Then, Sun King, you are not required to do anything, save take us back. If you're going to use Mesektet, I ask that you shoot the smaller beams. A full Anti-City blast is not something we need here."

"But of course. As if they deserved it." He laughed.

"Wait a minute, what about this ship? We have to keep magic a secret from the public, how are we going to do it when we're standing on a fucking enormous ass ship?" Yan Qing asked, prompting the others to look at him.

"You think I didn't plan for that? This ship is Ra's own. As such, only those who possess magical circuits are able to see it." Ramesses smirked. Yan Qing chuckled and turned back around, not saying a word.

"So tell me, Assassin. Caster." Ramesses began, prompting the two to turn to him.

"What did you do to become Heroic Spirits? After all, you lived not that long ago, correct?"

Irisviel looked at him, concerned. He sighed and nodded.

"It's not exactly what I did during my life. I'm kind of a special case. You see, there were three people that thought up the Holy Grail War, and one of them was my ancestor. My family, the Einzberns, is primarily homunculi, artificial human beings that are created to become cores for the grail. Our body structure is altered so that our magic circuits are top notch, and we are usually not given human emotions, becoming something of a shell that has no sense of its surroundings. We are made to give the grail power, and nothing more. But Kiritsugu decided that I should have more to live for than just that. And so he began teaching me about the world, and I gained a personality. I was fascinated listening to everything that had happened and was happening currently. Yet we knew that eventually I would have to be sacrificed for the grail. So for the sake of Kiritsugu, I decided that we should have a child for him to come home to. And so another homunculus was created inside of me. However, unlike the previous ones, I wanted to experience what it was like to give birth like any human woman. And so I did. Of course, by the time the Fourth Holy Grail War came around, we went off to Fuyuki to participate. However, during it, I was captured and killed by Assassin's Master, Kirei Kotomine. I merged with the grail then, and became its core, but was possessed by Angra Mainyu, just like this Hayashi. After that, I don't remember anything. The next time I was conscious was three years ago. Gilgamesh was absorbed by the grail and became its new core, but instead of fading from existence, I was made a servant, perhaps thanks to Heaven's Feel, like my ancestor."

"Heaven's Feel?" The pharaoh sat up, becoming intrigued. She nodded.

"Since you are from ancient times, I imagine that you have a firmer grasp on magic than some other servants, who lived in the times of science, when it was less prominent. What mages use to fight is called Magecraft. But beyond that is true Magic. Spells that have abilities beyond the power of man. Heaven's Feel is a Magic that allows either a single soul, or multiple souls, to achieve a state of immortality by being able to survive without having to be inside of a physical body, and is granted a limitless magical supply."

"That isn't one I'd like. After all, then everybody is the same. I cannot be considered a King in that situation. Are there others?"

"Indeed. It is such a rarity though, that no one knows how many there could possibly be." Kiritsugu added. "From what I understand, you can only attain Magic by reaching the Root, which is an ancient and eternal realm that is said to be the basis for all Mystery in the world, including Magecraft, Magic, and Heroic Spirits. However, it exists in a separate dimension, outside of time. So it's nearly impossible to get there. If you do, you must take a certain path to reach it. Only one mage can take a single path. If a second takes the same one, they will not receive magic. Upon reaching the Root, you cannot touch it, for if you do, you will be erased from this world. The only other way to possibly obtain it is for it to be passed down by generation within the family of the original wielder. You also have to have a certain capacity as a mage."

"So how many magics are there?" Arturia now asked, also taking part in the conversation.

"Currently, there are supposed to be five, though the possibility of more being created in the future is very much there. No one knows what the first and fourth magics are supposed to do, or what their names are, or who even possesses them today. The third one, as Iri said, is Heaven's Feel, which makes your soul a separate immortal entity."

"And the Second and Fifth?" Arjuna asked.

"The second is called Kaleidoscope, which is supposed to give you the power to travel to parallel worlds and interact with them. In a sense, dimension hopping. The fifth is called Magic Blue, as I hear, and is akin to Time Travel. As for the users of these two, I'm afraid I don't know. I was never affiliated with the Mage's Association. You can ask Hayashi when you meet him. Being a high ranking member of the Clock Tower, he probably has more information."

"Dimensional Travel?" Ozymandias mused, stroking his chin.

"Does that one interest you?"

"No. None of them do. It's just that Solomon has already, in a sense, achieved that one. One of his Noble Phantasms allows him to go to his workshop, which exists in a separate space that does not abide to the laws of space and time."

"Oh? How did he achieve it?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. He lived several hundred years after my time. However, Angra stated that he is the most powerful Caster class servant in the entire grail and history of the world, a man who mastered magecraft during his own lifetime. Perhaps he is not quite at the level of those Magics, but he is certainly the closest to it. Master Caster isn't far off either. After all, they are from times when magic was still prominent in society."

"Yes, that would make sense."

"You still didn't answer my earlier question. What did you do to become a Heroic Spirit? How did you come across all of this information despite not being a part of the Association?"

"I was an Assassin in life as well. That's all you need to know. I suppose the grail thought of me as something of an anti-hero, and made me into this." he explained. They remained silent for a time before Arturia spoke up, looking over to Kiritsugu.

"Assassin, would you mind telling me...what you did that made the other me upset with you?" He glanced at her and then sighed.

"I was her Master during the Fourth War. Due to my profession and the way I approach a situation, I had her spend most of it at Irisviel's side, making her the acting Master while an associate of mine and I would fight the other masters from the shadows. Of course with her becoming the grail's core, her health deteriorated as the servants were gradually defeated, their spirits going into her. I didn't tell Saber, and so she felt as if she couldn't trust me. I also interrupted one of her fights, and killed her opponent's master and his wife. Later on, at the very end of the war, I ordered her to use Excalibur to destroy the Grail, with complete disregard to her wish. I treated her terribly, but we were incompatible in the first place. Our personalities didn't work well, she was a King who wanted to do good by her people, and I was a killer who didn't care what it took to end the war."

"I see. I suppose you might have done better if you had summoned her Alter form."

"She has an Alter form?"

"We have way too many variations, trust me. It's almost laughable. But yes, there's a version of her where she's a rather strict and unforgiving King as well. I have my own Alter version too, with the same backstory."

"O...kay…So what is the difference between you two besides appearance?"

"I'm the version of her that used Rhongomyniad, the holy lance, as my main weapon. As such, my growth was not halted by Excalibur, and I was able to have both an adult mind and body. Unfortunately, I made some of the same stupid mistakes that the other me did, and my kingdom ended in the same way."

"I see...does it feel weird to be surrounded by your old comrades?"

"Well, I can't say that it's terrible. But there is something...off putting about it. After what happened with Mordred and Lancelot…"

"Does it help that you were summoned this way?"

"A bit. In this form, I was a wiser and more calm decision maker than my Saber counterpart, because of my aging process continuing. Mordred is fine, she envies me in this form, and I'm glad that Lancelot was summoned as a Saber this time around."

"Yeah...being summoned as a Berserker wouldn't work well, no matter what version you'd be summoned in."

"Right…everyone has been getting along for the most part."

"Indeed."

 **2 Hours Later**

"And here we are." The boat hovered over London's clock tower, and its magic activated, shrouding it from view.

"Are you ready to go?" Emiya looked over at Yan Qing.

"Whenever you are, boss."

"Then let's get going. You'll keep her safe?" He looked over at Arturia and Irisviel.

"Of course."

"Then let's get going." The two assassins jumped down off of the ship and landed in the courtyard.

"It's a good thing it's nighttime, no one's here."

"Well, no one's outside. Remember that there could still be people looking around the halls." Going up to the side entrance, Kiritsugu lockpicked the door, and the two silently entered, beginning to run down the halls, looking for their archives.

"There." They found signs that pointed them to the right place. Hiding behind the walls and glancing around them to see two guards stationed there, Kiritsugu sighed. Taking out a submachine gun and putting a suppressor on it, he motioned for his comrade to stay put. He then quickly got out and shot twice, using time acceleration magic on the bullets. Before the guards had a chance to attack or brace themselves, they were hit in the head, falling over and dying. Dragging the bodies through the doors, they held one of them up to the retinal scanner on the next door and finally got inside. Hiding them in a cart of cleaning supplies, they went over to one of the computers and turned it on.

"Alright. Watch the door."

"You got it." Kiritsugu started searching through files, narrowing the search with Hayashi's name.

"Got anything?" Assassin called over.

"Nothing yet. Just certificates of his promotions since he started here, all the way back from when he was a student. Oh. Wait a minute, here's something." He opened a new document that was different from the rest.

"Casualty and Damage Report, London, November 19, 2004. 296 dead, 483 wounded, 30% of city destroyed. Then there's a list of the names of the victims...oh, at the end. There's an incident report and a post-incident contract regarding the perpetrator." Kiritsugu searched both and found them, but they were both restricted access.

"Damn...I'll have to hack in, then." After about 4 minutes, he cracked it, and was able to read them.

"What's the incident report say?"

"Alright...this was written up by the Vice-Director herself… 'On November 17, 2004, I assigned four mages to go to Tokyo and fend off some ex-clock tower mages that were planning to destroy our branch there. Leading the group was the newly promoted Hayashi Tsukamoto, a prodigy who was just elevated to his new rank a week before. During the travels, he decided to summon a servant from the Holy Grail, in order to aid them in their fight and give them the advantage. As we now know, the servant he summoned was Angra Mainyu, an Avenger class. For the duration of the mission, they worked together, and when the time came to fight, the servant helped them and killed all of their targets. However, once that was over and Hayashi let his guard down, the servant possessed his body and ended up killing the other mages on his team. The following day, which was November 19th, he returned to London, still possessed, and began to wreak havoc in the city. At the top of the casualty list was Hayashi's own family, his mother, father, and older sister, whom he loved more than anything in the world, as well as his girlfriend; all of them by his own hands. Both civilians and mages were attacked indiscriminately, leading to 296 deaths, and 483 injured. In addition, 30% of the entire city of London was in flames. He was able to be separated from the servant by my own hand as well as assistance from Lord Zelretch. Following the separation, Hayashi explained that Angra Mainyu is the weakest servant in the entire Throne of Heroes, yet has the ability to possess people and become stronger by taking control of their magical circuits and magecraft. This was used as the explanation for why Avenger became so powerful and difficult to control. A memorial service was held for all of the victims, and a small service was held for Hayashi's family, consisting only of him, myself, Lord Zelretch, Lord El-Melloi II, and a few other high ranking mages. A leave of absence was requested and granted immediately following."

"Damn. What's the other article say?" Assassin asked.

"Hm. It's not an article, but...a contract of sorts. This was signed on November 30, 2004, 11 days after the incident. 'In accordance with the laws of the Mage's Association, Hayashi Tsukamoto is hereby given a Sealing Designation and deemed a Hermit due to his potential dangerous ability to summon multiple servants at a time, as well as lose control and turn into an Avenger class pseudo-servant. Due to him remaining a member of the association, he is not deemed an immediate threat, but should he decide to go rogue, he is to be hunted down by Enforcers.' Signed, Hayashi Tsukamoto, Barthomeloi Lorelei, and Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."

"A Sealing Designation? What's that?"

"My father had one. Those who possess a special ability in magecraft that cannot be obtained by normal means, or in some situations even passed down through generations, are often giving Sealing Designations by the Association. It signifies that the Association wants to study them and acquire the magic for themselves through research and experiments. My father had one since he studied Vampirism. If they are deemed a threat, then powerful mages called Enforces are sent to either capture or kill them, and then retrieve the bodies, where they are preserved for study. There are two types. Those that are called Hermit, like Hayashi, are either allied with the Association, or are not an immediate threat, due to them not actively pursuing their magic. Those who are given the designation of Prophet, are deemed immediate threats, since they will do anything to further their quest for power with their ability, including killing. I'm sure since Hayashi signed this himself that he knows that the higher ups of the Clock Tower are just playing him; while he remains on their side, they are able to use his ability to summon multiple servants and as a master mage. Meanwhile, if he ever defects, he will be hunted by their elites, and upon inevitable capture and preservation, they will be able to study him. It's a win win for them, while it's a lose lose for him. He basically has to do everything they say, lest he be considered a traitor. How unfortunate."

"Uh, boss? We've been caught. There are people running towards the door."

"Only a matter of time, I guess. Let's get going, we got what we came for." The two ran out the back, while Lorelei, Waver, and a few others came in through the front.

"After them. I'll go around to corner them." She ordered, the others nodded, going after them.

"Hold it right there!" El-Melloi called out. Kiritsugu used Double Accel to run partway up the wall and then fired shots into the three guards that were surrounding him.

"This magic…" Waver mumbled, looking behind him to see the others fall to the floor. Firing multiple shots again before reloading, Waver cast a shield that blocked them, then fired beams of energy. Both of them dodged it, but continued running.

'He blocked it in time...is he familiar with my spells?' Kiritsugu asked himself.

He used reinforcement on his legs to make him jump over the two and block their way.

"Damn!"

Waving his hand, a gust of wind blew through the hall, forcing them to back up.

"Hey boss, you have an idea? I'm not really suited for this type of thing."

"Yeah, I have an idea." Reaching down to his leg, he pulled out his knife, and held it backhanded, taking off his hood.

"Y-You…?!"

"Let's shuffle the cards. Can you keep up with me?" Kiritsugu accelerated his body to such a degree that his body vibrated, and had an afterimage. Running along the wall and on the ceiling, he jumped past him and slashed with the knife, making him fall over and cough up blood.

"Chronos Rose."

"Kiritsugu Emiya...how is it that you're a servant?"

"You know who I am?"

"You don't recognize me, do you…?" he chuckled. "My name is Waver. I was Rider's Master in the fourth war."

"...Ah. That's why you were able to predict that attack."

"Why are you working for Angra Mainyu?"

"My reasons are my own. Just know that we wanted some information." Dashing off again along with Assassin, the two rounded the corner, and were almost at the front door, but were stopped by Lorelei.

"This isn't what I wanted right now…" Kiritsugu mumbled, readying his knife again. Assassin ran in and began to deliver kick after punch after kick, but she dodged all of them and then reinforced her leg, kicking him back.

"Surrender yourselves." She cast a powerful command magic on them, trying to bend their will to her.

"Not in your lifetime." They resisted, and Kiritsugu used Chronos Rose again, ready to cut her.

"Phantasm Punishment-!" Sidestepping to avoid the strike, she cast wind magic on a completely different level than Waver's to cover her body in it, and use her limbs as weapons.

"You two aren't quite at my level yet." She leapt towards Yan Qing and extended one of her legs, hoping to pierce him.

Taking a martial arts stance, his shadow disappeared from the ground.

"Secret technique, ready! The honorable scoundrel of darkness is on the scene. Ambushed from Ten Sides- As If There Was No Shadow!" Proceeding with his Noble Phantasm, he kicked her back, then dashed behind her and kicked again. Moving so fast that he appeared to be in multiple places at once, he kept inflicting strike after strike until finally stepping back, gathering light into his fist, and rushing forward one last time, slamming it into her, creating a massive shockwave of energy that rendered her momentarily immobile.

"Let's go! We don't have enough time to fight her!" The two continued out the door and were lifted up onto the ship via an elevating circle that Irisviel cast.

"You're not getting away from me!" As soon as they climbed aboard, Lorelei was back and kicking through the air with an advanced reinforcement, ready to fight them again.

"You're kidding! She's already back up?!" Assassin yelled.

"Arjuna! Shoot her down!" Kiritsugu ordered. Summoning multiple arrows with surging lightning, he fired them all at her, but she created a whirlwind that sliced them up.

"She won't give up. This damn woman…" Kiritsugu growled.

"Do you need me yet?" Ramesses chuckled. As he was about to stand up, and she was about to climb on, Arturia placed the point of her spear against her stomach.

"Rhongomyniad." The spear began rotating, and a swirling vortex of golden energy engulfed her and sent her spiraling downwards, crashing into the building.

"Take off now! Full speed!" She yelled.

"Alright then! Mesektet!" The boat quickly turned around and flew through the sky, heading to QV66.

"Vice-Director, are you alright?!" A few guards ran up to her and tried to help her to her feet.

"Ugh...no...that spear really packs a punch...get me and El-Melloi to the infirmary, please. Quickly!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

 **X**

"What?" Hayashi asked groggily, answering his phone as he lay in bed with Nero again.

"We were just attacked."

"What?!" He sat up.

"Yes, by a few different servants, as a matter of fact. There were six of them. They broke into the Clock Tower and accessed three files in our archives, two of them restricted."

"Can I guess which ones they were?"

"No, because I'm going to tell you anyway. They viewed the damage report for that night, as well as the incident report, and your designation contract."

"Shouldn't they already know about those, though?"

"Apparently not. They didn't delete or alter the files at all, either. I'm guessing that these servants truly weren't told anything about you."

"Hm. So they're taking their own initiative."

"Yes. Also, there is something rather distressing about one of them."

"Which is?"

"His identity. It was Kiritsugu Emiya. Waver confirmed it."

"How is that possible? He's dead."

"He must have become a heroic spirit for some reason. He seemed to be the one leading the operation, as well. And he used Time Alter Magic too."

"Damn. That complicates things. After all, he didn't pass on his crest to anyone, so he's the only one that can use that magic."

"I'm worried about what he'll do to us. After what happened with Norikata, he never allied with us."

"Don't worry about that. He wouldn't actively attack you. He just doesn't care for you. Were you injured at all?"

"Yes, I was hit point blank by two of their Noble Phantasms."

"How are you still conscious?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll recover. El-Melloi got hit by one too, though. We also found two dead guards in the archives, so it's the same as if they've already declared war on us. We'll be sending our own out to assist you-"

"No, you won't. This is something I'm doing on my own."

"Hayashi, this is not just your problem anymore. They directly attacked us, and injured me. I can't ignore this!"

"I don't care! This is my mission, and my quest! And I don't want any interference from any of you! Send out help, and I'll send them all back to you in stitches. That is, assuming I decide to let them live."

"So you'd sooner kill your own allies than accept their help?"

"You are not my allies. And don't you ever forget that." Hanging up angrily, he growled, and splashed water on his face, looking into the mirror.

"You bastard…" he muttered.

"Master? Are you alright?" Nero's voice snapped him back to reality, calming him down. Taking a deep breath, he responded.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Just an acquaintance of mine that I don't really get along with." He went back into the bedroom, lying down again.

 _ **November 17, 2004, 10 A.M.**_

" _So they're sending you off? To Tokyo?"_

" _Yeah. I'm not sure what the details are yet, but the Vice-Director told us to pack in advance. It will be a long flight."_

" _Almost twelve hours." Hayashi's father walked in, standing alongside his mother._

" _So we'll just sleep."_

" _Uh huh. Typical. Your first assignment as a Brand Mage, and the first thing you do is sleep for 12 hours." His sister, Koharu, teased, leaning against the doorway with her arms folded. She had long black hair that shined like silk, and was dressed for her own work, wearing a black business skirt, black high heels, and a black suit. Her amethyst eyes glistened when she looked at him._

" _Hey! I don't sleep all the time! If I did, I wouldn't have come this far!"_

" _Yeah, but just because you're an elite now, don't expect the workload to be any lighter. The higher the position, the more responsibilities you have."_

" _I know that. Come on, sis. I'm not that dumb."_

" _No, of course you're not. Can't a girl have fun with her little brother? Now come on. You're going to be late if you continue to dawdle. I didn't have to drive here and offer to take you myself, you know."_

 _On the way there, in her car, she glanced at him before smiling._

" _I envy you, you know. I always poke fun at how you don't behave as a proper mage should, but you must be loving it."_

" _Huh? What do you mean?"_

" _Just, all of this. This whole other world that most people aren't even aware of. The first person in our family in generations that's had any sort of magic talent, and that was good enough to join the Association and take classes, let alone become one of their strongest."_

" _You shouldn't sell yourself short. You can perform a few elemental spells yourself, right?"_

" _Well, it's nothing compared to what you can do. I'm a beginner. I can do the most basic of basics, so I wasn't good enough to join the Academy."_

" _But still. You just said that we're part of a different world that so many people aren't aware of. It shouldn't matter if I'm more capable than you or not. You're already in it, no matter how small a role."_

 _She paused for a moment before giggling._

" _You're so cute."_

" _I am not!" Pulling up to the front of the Clock Tower, she stopped and leaned over, hugging him and kissing his cheek._

" _Alright, go on. Get your stuff and get going. It won't do you any good to be late to your debriefing. And don't forget, send me pictures! We haven't been to Tokyo in years! Not since Grandma and Grandpa brought us along for that one trip to see their parents' house in Kyoto."_

" _Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I will. I love you." He said, kissing her back as he walked past her window, going into the tower. She smiled brightly before driving off to her law firm._

 _ **X**_

 _Going up to the Vice-Director's office, he knocked on the door and was invited in. She was sitting behind her desk, addressing three others that were standing in front._

" _Ah, Lord Tsukamoto. Perfect timing. Let's begin right away." He went up and stood next to the others._

" _This is Hayashi Tsukamoto, your team leader, and a newly appointed Brand Mage. Hayashi, these are Jack Williams, Amrita Acharya, and Florentina Volkov, all mages with the rank of Pride."_

 _Jack was British, and wore the standard Mage's officer uniform, a black coat with the emblem on it. He had short and spiky red hair._

 _Amrita was Indian, also wearing the same uniform, and in addition to slightly darker skin, had medium length dark brown hair as well._

 _The third, Florentina, was Russian, so her skin was a bit paler, and unlike the others, she wore a long blue coat with the emblem on it. She had long silky white hair._

 _After exchanging greetings, they looked back at Lorelei, who handed them each folders with their assignments._

" _I'm sure this isn't news to you, but we sometimes have mages that desert us, for various reasons. Unfortunately, there's a recent faction from our Tokyo branch that has become increasingly violent, despite negotiations from our end. Rather than having members of their branch going out and chance the city finding out about the existence of magic, we're going to send you instead to try and take care of this quietly."_

" _How many of them are there?"_

" _There's about 10 of them. But most of them are ranked Cause and Fes, save for the leader, who's Pride. I'm confident that you are all able to take care of them. Let me be clear, I want them eliminated. We've tried on multiple attempts to resolve things peacefully, but they won't have any of it, and I don't want to have an attack on the city or on that branch."_

" _Understood. Let's get started then."_

" _Good luck. You all have your plane tickets, right?"_

" _Yeah."_

 _ **X**_

 _Landing in Tokyo the next day, the four got off and arrived at their hotel._

" _Alright. According to our mission file, their hideout was discovered about an hour away, in the forest."_

" _Are you sure you want to get this done right away? We could relax for a bit first." Florentina suggested._

" _We'll have time to do that afterwards. The Vice-Director wants these guys to be taken care of ASAP." Leaving along with the others, they headed out towards the outskirts of the city._

" _Guys...I have an idea." Hayashi began._

" _Oh yeah? And what might that be?" Amrita asked._

" _These guys were ranked anywhere from Cause to Pride while they were in the Association. So, even though we're stronger, it will still be quite a fight. Why don't we get a little extra help to make this assignment easier?"_

" _What did you have in mind?" Jack spoke this time, all of them coming to a halt. Hayashi grinned._

" _A servant."_

" _Are you crazy?!" Amrita yelled. "We're not authorized to do that, and it's not for a Holy Grail War either!"_

" _I know, but it's just for one assignment! And besides, it will make our mission more successful and reap greater results!"_

" _Oh, really? And you've summoned a servant before now?" Florentia asked._

" _Well...no. I've never attempted it myself."_

" _Then how do you know that it will be successful in the first place?!"_

" _She's right. There's too many variables. If it's your first time, the ritual could fail. And if it succeeds, what if you summon a servant that won't listen to you? Or one's that so powerful that they decide they don't need you?" Jack looked at him._

" _That's what command seals are for, you know. And as soon as we finish, then I'll send him back."_

" _Don't you need a catalyst to summon one of them?"_

" _That's for if you have a specific one in mind that you want to summon. If you don't have a catalyst, then the grail just chooses one for you. Trust me, it will be fine. And once they see that we have a servant on our side, they'll think twice about fighting us."_

 _The three remained silent for a minute before sighing._

" _Alright. Fine." Hayashi grinned and led them into the forest and away from any prying eyes. Drawing up a summoning circle in a large clearing, he began to recite a chant, and the circle began glowing._

" _Come to me, Servant! Help me in my time of need!" A huge burst of red light swirled up into the sky, and following the blinding flash, a short figure stood there, shrouded in darkness. As the black mist slowly cleared off, he looked to be not that much older than a teenager, standing only at 5'4". He had dark tan skin, wore black footwraps and handwraps, a long red tattered waistcloth, and had ancient religious tattoos all over his body, but seemingly from burns and scars, not from ink. He had short spiky black hair, and a red bandana wrapped around his head. He looked up slowly and maliciously before giving a small grin with a lighter face._

" _Heya! I'm Avenger, the weakest servant!" He greeted._

" _...The weakest?" Hayashi asked, disappointed._

" _That's right. I can barely fight on my own."_

" _Then what good are you?!" He yelled back, comically, making Avenger depressed._

" _There, there, Hayashi. It'll be alright." Florentia comforted, patting his back. "This is the servant you summoned, so you have to deal with him."_

" _Yeah, yeah." He stood up and looked at the short spirit._

" _Alright then. What's your True Name?"_

" _Oh...you wish to know already? Very well. To be honest, I am not anybody. I never was anybody of importance. Although during my time, the people referred to me as Angra Mainyu. So I've been sticking to that since I became a servant."_

" _Angra Mainyu?!" Amrita seemed surprised._

" _You know of me?" he asked, turning to her._

" _Well, not everyone has. But since my family's from India, we are familiar with some concepts from Zoroastrianism. You're supposed to be the Ancient Persian God of Darkness!"_

" _If that's really true, then why are you the weakest servant?"_

" _Because, as I just explained, I am merely a man who was labeled as that god. That does not mean that I have all of the powers and abilities of the King of Daemons from the Avesta scriptures."_

" _You get what you get Hayashi." The three told him._

" _Is that your name?" he asked._

" _Yeah. Hayashi Tsukamoto. I'm part of the Mage's Association."_

" _I see. And why did you summon me?"_

" _We have a mission to fulfill, and I was hoping that you would help us out. There's a group of ex-mages that want to stage on attack on our branch in Tokyo. We figured a servant would be able to help us take care of them quickly."_

" _I see. Normal humans shouldn't be too much of a problem for me." He summoned to reverse grip blunt weapons that looked like claws and had the same color scheme that he did._

" _Great. Then let's get going. We're not far off."_

 _Following along, the five made their way to an ambush spot, recognizing the mages' hideout._

" _Let us go in first." Hayashi stood up with Avenger following, the others waiting outside. Several figures with white cloaks were inside, and hadn't taken notice of them yet._

" _Master, you may leave them to me." Avenger cackled, seemingly becoming one with the darkness the further in he went. Remaining unseen, he sliced two of their throats with one of the claws, dropping dead instantly. Hayashi continued further in, forming a knife made of light and stabbing the next three in the heart._

" _Oh...not bad." A clapping began, and spheres of light were created, revealing the final five members of the faction._

" _Get down!" he ordered, tackling Angra to the ground as the cave suddenly exploded. The other three ran towards it, seeing the five mages float down onto the ground slowly. As the smoke cleared, Hayashi was revealed to have cast a dome-like shield around them, stopping the blast._

" _Thank you, Master." He slowly stood up, and tossed his claws like boomerangs behind him._

" _What did you do that for?"_

" _Just wait."_

" _So you took down our Causes. So what? They were the weakest of us anyways!" The leader boasted._

" _Tell me, why are you fighting us? Why did you defect?"_

" _Because the Association wants to hide Magic from the world! It has existed since the beginning of time, yet only we mages know that it exists! Imagine how much further along society could be if we relied on it! We could reach a height not seen since Ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia!"_

" _Hmm...it's a nice thought, but the drawbacks far outweigh the advancements. It's a power that people would grow afraid of, and use to war against each other. They would summon servants all the time, and exhaust and corrupt the power of the Holy Grail even further. Our society would become apocalyptic and war-ridden. People are not the smartest decision makers, especially when it comes to something they can't understand."_

" _Yet we understand it, and we are people, are we not? Our families have known about and mastered magecraft over generations. If they were able to control it, then normal citizens should be able to as well!" Hayashi's eyes narrowed as Avenger's weapons came back around and tore through his stomach, causing him to fall forward and spit up blood._

" _You're missing the point here. We all have our own problems on this side of the spectrum. To get the public involved in a Holy Grail War would be catastrophic. Don't you remember what happened during the fourth war?"_

" _That….was not…...because of them…." He coughed out before dying. The other four began to fight them, but together, they were able to block or avoid their attacks and kill them quickly._

" _Well...that's it. What do we do about the bodies?" Jack asked._

" _Burn them. Leave no traces of a fight here." Hayashi ordered, the others complying. He turned to his servant, crossing his arms._

" _Well...what do we do now? This is what I summoned you for."_

" _I see. That was it, huh? Unfortunately, since I was just summoned not that long ago, I have to remain in this world for at least 3 days before I'm able to go back."_

" _I see. Well then, you can stay with us for now, I guess. But try not to draw attention to yourself if you go out into the public."_

" _I'm...not much of a people person. You don't have to worry about me going out into the city." he smirked._

" _Alright then." After their corpses were burned to ash and then the rest of the flames were doused with water magic, they left and ended up going back to the hotel. Angra Mainyu went back into his spirit form, becoming invisible._

 _ **That Night**_

 _Hayashi laid awake in bed, looking out the window of their room._

" _Hey, Master…"_

" _Hm? What's up?"_

" _Tell me...what do you think of humans?"_

" _Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"_

" _Well...it's sort of the basis for my entire existence. Remember what I said, that when I was alive, people chastised me as Angra Mainyu, the God of Darkness."_

" _Well...humans are complex creatures. They have such an immense history, and I truly believe that we've made the world better. From Mesopotamia, to Egypt, to China, and every subsequent civilization and nation afterwards, we contributed in some way, shape, or form. I know that we've started a lot of wars as well, and damaged the atmosphere, and caused lots of devastation to the planet in multiple ways...but if we weren't here, or never existed, then it would still just be a primal, natural selection world."_

" _I see. I think I understand. I am rather conflicted on the matter myself. You see, I certainly find humans interesting. At first, I thought that they were selfish and arrogant creatures, and despised their very existence. But strangely, I have come to forgive them despite all of the horrible things that they have done wrong. Does that sound strange?"_

" _No, not at all. It's human nature to forgive. Often times, no matter how much someone has wronged another, they find it deep within their hearts to forgive each other. Unless, you know, they've done something life changingly cruel."_

" _Hm. Thank you for the insight Master."_

" _No problem. Good night." Hayashi closed his eyes and turned onto his side, drifting off to sleep._

' _I see, Master. So then, if a human does something considered unforgivable to another, then it would be reasonable to not absolve them of their sins...right?' He glanced back at him, narrowing his eyes ominously._

 _ **X**_

 _Waking up didn't really feel like waking up. All Hayashi could see was darkness. It felt like he was in a pit of tar. That he couldn't move, like he was in a thick substance._

" _What's going on…? Where am I?"_

" _Hello Master." Hayashi looked up, Angra Mainyu smiling at him._

" _Angra? What is this? What have you done?"_

" _I've taken control of your body, Master."_

" _For what?" he growled._

" _It was something you told me last night. I asked you what you thought of humanity, and you gave me your honest opinion. You believe that humans have it in themselves to forgive another for wrongdoings, no matter how heinous the act may have been. But, you also said that if they did something that broke another person, then it wouldn't be right for them to forgive that other person."_

" _That is what I said…so what did people do to you to make you bitter towards us?"_

" _I'll let you know soon enough. Remember how I said that I was the weakest servant? Well it's true, but there's a bit more to my powers than that. You see, ten years ago, a young woman named Irisviel von Einzbern was absorbed into the Holy Grail in order to become its new terminal. Her husband, Kiritsugu Emiya, sought it out for a wish, as a participant of the Fourth Holy Grail War. In order to communicate with him, I possessed Irisviel's body. But what I discovered was rather fascinating. I became stronger, because I had control over her magic. She was not a particularly powerful mage offensive wise, but if I were to take over someone who was, say...you, I would be able to fulfill my own wishes."_

" _If that's true, why don't you want a servant to possess? They're stronger than us. And Lorelei and Zelretch too?"_

" _It doesn't quite work that way. I cannot possess another servant, since I already am one. As for the others, I also need to have a certain amount of compatibility with my Master. I work well with you because of your nature. That's all. Now then, it's time for me to begin. You can wait here and watch." He laughed, disappearing and leaving Hayashi trapped in his own subconscious._

 _ **X**_

" _Are you ready to go?" Florentia asked him, putting her coat on. "We're stopping by Kyoto for the day to see your great-grandparents' place, right?"_

" _Yeah. Yeah, that's right." Hayashi, now possessed, nodded at her._

" _Well, alright then. Let's get going. The others are already waiting downstairs for us." She began to walk out of the room, before he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around._

" _Wait."_

" _Wh-What is it?" She asked, blushing a bit now that they were close to each other._

' _What are you doing?!' Hayashi yelled._

' _Making this all the more tragic for you in the end.' Avenger replied, before leaning in and kissing her. She moaned, pressing against his body and lifting one of her legs up._

' _Damn it, Avenger…Don't you play with her emotions like that!'_

' _It's not as if you can do anything, Master. You are trapped, after all.'_

' _Because of you!'_

 _Breaking apart, Florentia looked up into his now red eyes that seemed to be glowing faintly._

" _Hayashi...I'm so attracted to you…"_

" _Me too. But it will have to wait until later. We have to go and catch our train."_

" _Ah, right!" She composed herself and they carried their bags down together before checking out. The train ride was a little over 3 hours, and once they arrived, Jack and Amrita went to the hotel to check in, while Hayashi and Florentia went to his family's old house, hand in hand._

" _So this is where your family is from?"_

" _Indeed. My grandparents moved to London when they were young, and we've stayed there ever since." Walking around the perimeter, Florentia pointed out certain architectural choices that she liked, and then the two walked off into the nearby town._

 _At this point, Hayashi had stopped struggling, knowing that he wouldn't get anywhere. He was slightly happy that Florentia had returned his feelings for him, but it didn't feel genuine, since he wasn't the one spending time with her. It felt sickening knowing that she was dating him, and that he couldn't warn her in any way. The rest of the day consisted of them going to various different shops and restaurants, and continuing to make out and enjoy each other's company. When sunset came, they retired to the hotel. And from there, they decided to have sex._

 _And yet the whole time, all Hayashi could do was watch as the man who betrayed him was using his body to make love to the girl of his dreams._

' _So how was that?' Angra asked once they were done, and she cuddled up to his body._

' _I'm jealous but I'm also furious. When I get out of here, I'm going to strangle the life out of you!'_

' _You won't be getting out of here. I'm afraid this is permanent.'_

' _I think I'd be a little less angry if you gave me any hint as to why you're doing all of this.'_

' _Soon enough, as I said. I haven't broken you yet. But I'm sure that will come soon enough. Most likely tomorrow.'_

' _What do you mean…? What are you planning on doing?!' He chuckled before leaving._

' _DAMN YOU!'_

 _ **X**_

 _The flight home was uneventful. Once they landed, they returned to the Association, and after delivering their report, went their separate ways back home. Only Avenger didn't. Following Jack home from a distance, he waited until he took a back alley shortcut to his home, before making his presence known._

" _Hayashi? What are you doing here?" Without saying a word, his eyes began glowing red, and he summoned one of his claws._

" _Wait...are you…?" And instantly, he was eviscerated by the serrated weapon, sliding down to the ground, his internal organs falling out of him._

' _ANGRAAAAAA!'_

" _You are my first victim." The next move he made was slicing his head in half before jumping off, sensing Amrita's magic power._

' _Tell me why you're doing this!'_

' _It's not time yet.' Arriving at Amrita's home, he rung the doorbell before her mother answered the door._

" _Yes? Can I help...you…!" Her throat was slit, and he walked inside, killing her father and younger brother as well._

" _Hayashi?!" She screamed, seeing the others._

" _He's gone." Without another word, he stabbed her with his weapon, going all the way out through the other side of her chest._

" _Haya...shi…." She fell to the floor and slid down the stairs._

" _Another one down. I wonder who we should do next?" Going off into the city, he began to attack people indiscriminately, as well as set buildings and fire and cut them apart._

" _Vice-Director." Her door was slammed open, and Zelretch stood there, already dressed for combat, wearing black pants, a dark green tunic, and a black cloak._

" _What is it? If you break that door, you're replacing it."_

" _We have a problem. Prepare for a violent confrontation." She looked up and followed him out._

" _What's going on?"_

" _That Brand Mage of yours, Hayashi Tsukamoto, has been wreaking havoc throughout the city."_

" _What?!"_

" _I do not know why. But he has already killed many people, including our own forces." She began walking faster, going ahead of him._

" _Bring me to him." Her eyes burned with rage._

 _ **X**_

" _How many is that now? I believe about 292. I can't believe you aren't broken yet. You are a strong one."_

 _Hayashi remained silent, seething with rage._

" _Let's see...I saved the best for last." Looking up to the sky, he located Florentia's magic signature, and went off towards her. Arriving at the Association, he went through the halls until reaching the women's dressing room. Opening the door and walking inside, she yelped in surprise when she saw him, only wearing her bra and underwear._

" _H-Hayashi, what are you doing here?! This is the women's changing room!"_

" _I know. But I was worried about you, what with what's going on in the city."_

' _Avenger….'_

" _That's sweet, but I have to put my uniform on and get ready to fight. Weren't you deployed as well?"_

" _Yes. We should fight together though."_

" _Oh, very well." She kissed him before continuing to get dressed, turning around. Hayashi's eyes glowed again, and a sinister grin came across his face._

' _Avenger!' Hayashi yelled out, magic power gathering around him. As soon as she turned back around, he slammed her up against the lockers by the throat._

" _Guh-! Ha...yashi….? What...are you...doing…?!" she choked out, looking at him with tears starting to show themselves as he tightened his grip._

' _Florentia! Florentia! Can you hear me?!'_

" _FLORENTIA!" They paused, hearing his voice._

" _Hayashi…?" She choked out._

' _He's reaching her with his magic power?' Avenger bit his lip._

" _That's not me!" She gritted her teeth, casting an ice spell that froze his hand and made him break away._

" _Angra Mainyu…" she growled, preparing another spell._

" _It's no use!" A black and red aura surrounded him, and he kicked her through the lockers before crouching over her, once again strangling her._

" _This time I'm not giving you another chance!" He gathered the aura into his other hand and lifted her off the ground before impaling her with the powered up hand, going right through her heart._

' _FLORENTIA!' Hayashi sobbed, as the man possessing him grinned, dropping her to the floor._

" _Ha...ya...shi…" She spoke her last word before she stopped breathing and her eyes lost their color._

" _And this was only the first. Let's see what happens with the other three." He began to walk out and head to his house._

" _Your parents are next."_

' _What?! Don't you dare-!'_

" _There's nothing you can do about it. I'm in control of your body." Using Reinforcement to dash through the sky, they arrived at his house and opened the door._

" _Hayashi, dear, you're back? I figured you'd be out there fighting the menace who's destroying the city." His mother called out._

" _Yes...the menace...I'm about to go out and fight him, but I needed to come and make sure you were okay first. Where's Koharu?"_

" _She called and said she'd be staying at work. She thinks that she'll be safer there instead of driving home during this."_

" _I see…I feel I must confess something to you. I am not your son."_

" _What are you talking about? Of course you are!" His father laughed._

" _No...I've become a demi-servant. During our assignment, Hayashi decided to summon a servant, and that was me. I've taken control of his body."_

" _What are you saying…? That you're the one who's been…?"_

" _Indeed. I felt that I owed you this much before you die."_

" _Where is my son?" His father readied a small amount of magic in his hand._

" _He's inside his own subconscious. Watching helplessly while I do all of this." He snickered, beginning to walk towards him. Shooting off a simple blast, it hit him and exploded, but his wound healed quickly due to dark magic._

" _If you want to blame anybody, blame Hayashi." Summoning his two claws, he slashed his father's body in half before leaping over and slitting his mother's throat. Hayashi collapsed, and Angra stood over him, crossing his arms and tilting his head._

' _So I guess this did it for you? Night's not over yet, my friend.' Hayashi's hand grabbed Angra by the throat and lifted him off the ground, surprising the servant._

" _If you touch her, I will tear my way out of here and obliterate you." His own eyes had turned red, and seemed to even intimidate the servant to the point that he had to use magic to subdue him._

' _I see. So you love your sister more than anything after all. Then let's see what happens, shall we?'_

 _ **X**_

" _Koharu, are you sure you want to stay here?" She looked up at her boss. "Everyone else already evacuated."_

" _Yeah. At this point, risking going home would put me in more danger than just staying here. What about yourself? You know that I can handle things, right?"_

" _Yes. Yes, of course, but I don't want you to stay here by yourself."_

" _Heh. Thanks." She smiled at him. The door opened, and both of them turned around to see Hayashi standing there._

" _Hayashi? What are you doing here?"_

' _Koharu...run…'_

" _Hayashi, what are you doing here?" She stood up, looking at him questioningly._

" _I'm afraid...that Hayashi is gone, Koharu Tsukamoto."_

" _What are you talking about?" He formed one of his weapons and held it up for them to see. Both of them stepped back, afraid. Reaching his arm backwards, Angra tossed the weapon like a boomerang through Koharu's boss, before closing his fist and making it come back around, catching it with his other hand._

" _AAAGH!" Koharu screamed, hiding behind her desk. The man fell forward, already departed from this world, while Avenger began to walk over to her._

" _Hayashi...why are you doing this?!" she sobbed._

" _I already told you that your brother is gone. I've taken over now. My name is Angra Mainyu." She backed up against the wall, and he stood face to face with her._

" _Angra Mainyu? What happened?"_

" _Your brother summoned me. I've been leading him on in order to take possession of a powerful mage. From what I can sense, you have a bit of talent as a mage yourself. You are not much compared to your brother however."_

" _So what you're saying is you're not really him?"_

" _That's correct."_

" _Then where is he?"_

" _He is inside his own subconscious right now. If you'd like to talk to him, I can arrange it."_

" _...Yes. I'd like that."_

" _Very well then." His eyes flashed for a moment before Koharu was standing in the same place Hayashi was._

" _Hayashi?"_

" _Koharu…" He glanced up at her, still stuck in the mud._

" _It's you!" She ran over and hugged him tightly. He didn't react at all, his eyes now empty shells of what they used to be._

" _What's going on?! That guy out there said you summoned him?"_

" _Yes...I'm sorry...all of this is my fault."_

" _Hayashi, that's not true."_

" _It is though. I didn't have to summon him. I only did to show off to my friends! And now...they're all dead because he used me...Koharu, I...killed mom and dad too."_

" _..."_

" _I don't get how you can still love me after I've done all of these horrible things…" He was stopped by her embrace tightening on him, and pulling his head onto her shoulder._

" _I can continue to love you because you're my little brother. You didn't know this would happen, and I forgive you for that. It doesn't matter what you do, Hayashi. As your big sister, I have to look after and protect you no matter what."_

 _Tears began falling from his eyes as he remained leaning on her._

" _So then, I guess this is it for me, huh?" she asked, chuckling a bit._

" _No, don't say that! I can...get out of this…!" He tried to use several reinforcement spells, but none of them ended up working._

" _Don't worry, Hayashi."_

" _I've let you two go on long enough. It's time to say goodbye." His voice spoke over them, before they all found themselves back outside in the office._

 _Angra had taken himself out of Hayashi's body, but was still using dark binding spells to stop him from moving. He stood in his own form now, looking at Koharu, who had calmed down from before._

" _I want you to watch. This will surely erase any feeling you have left. And then we can truly become one." Avenger looked at Hayashi._

" _Koharu…!"_

" _Hayashi, please don't cry. For me. I'll always be there with you." She smiled at him, with tears of her own streaming down her face as Avenger's weapons embedded themselves within her, tearing her stomach and chest open._

" _KOHARUUUUU!"_

" _Ggh…" Her body fell backwards, collapsing. Angra did not give them any time to say goodbye, beginning to walk out of the room and making Hayashi follow him with his binds. Continuing up the stairs to the roof, the two looked out into the flaming city, seeing all of the destruction that they had caused together._

" _I did all of this…" he muttered._

" _Did you?"_

" _Yes! I chose to summon you! If I hadn't done that, then everything that's happened wouldn't have, and we'd all have our normal lives back!"_

" _Oh. That's what you meant…? I was thinking of something different." Hayashi looked up at him._

" _You see, when someone summons a servant without a catalyst, the servant that is chosen is supposed to match, or at least be compatible with the Master's personality. For example, someone who is mentally unstable is more likely to summon someone like Gilles de Rais or Caligula, while someone who is full of honor or valor will probably summon one of the Knights of Camelot, or perhaps one of the Knights of Fianna. You, however, are a bit of a special case. You're middle of the road. There are things about humanity that you hate, but there are also things about humanity that you like. Hence, I was chosen as your servant. I suppose it's time to tell you why I did all of this. Let me begin by asking you this: do you know who Angra Mainyu is?"_

" _You're supposed to be a demon or a destructive spirit of Zoroastrianism."_

" _Indeed. I was considered the God of Darkness in the ancient Persian Empire. But, as I stated previously, I am not actually that entity. I am nothing more than an ordinary human from the land that you would nowadays call Iran. The people in my village believed that from the moment humans are born, there is an inherent evil inside of them. They thought that it was impossible to be freed from malice just by living a good life and being a good person; no, the only way to realize the goodness inside of humans was to force 'All the Evils of the World' onto a single person and blame them as the true source of any human filth. If one person embodies all of that hatred, then the rest of the people cannot be evil, no matter what they do. This was the simple, childlike, idiotic theory that they put their faith in. And who do you think was chosen as that source? Give you three guesses." Hayashi grunted, looking away._

" _They tortured me until I became insane. They captured me, beat me, carved every word that cursed mankind onto my body, forced every imaginable sin upon me, took out bits and pieces of me, defiled my mind with absolute evil, and held me responsible for all of it. They would not allow me to die until I had succumbed to old age. As a result, a curse was placed upon me, one made of all the evil I was supposed to represent. At first, I couldn't believe the senselessness of it all. I was supposed to be the source of all of this immorality, yet they were the ones inflicting foul and cruel treatments and tortures upon me. I started wondering who it was that I should hate. Myself for being chosen as this icon, or them, for inflicting me with such a burden. But no matter how hard I tried to forgive them, I only felt anger and hatred towards the world and all of the fools who mercilessly executed me. My forced sacrifice eased the minds of the people, and despite it being unintentional, it qualified me to be a Heroic Spirit. As for my hatred, I only despised mankind of my own accord during the first few years, but afterwards, the hate simply became a natural function for me rather than a conscious emotion; hate was the state that I was always in, so it was only natural for me to continue hating everything. By that time, I forgave and tolerated humanity for any sins that they may cause, while still hating them. Their imbalances were evened out by my hatred, so the people could be absolved of all guilt and live freely. But that kind of 'forgiveness' is also the same type that validates any evils that humans may perform. Yet as the time passed by and I witnessed many rises and falls of generations, I realized that while I still hated humans for what they did to me, I still loved the world. Of course, the people that put me up here, my family, my loved ones, the people I hated, all died long before I did. The village where I grew up had changed over the generations, expanding and declining; people reviled me, they feared me, they scorned me, and yet they revered me as the sign of their salvation. But I could do nothing but hate, since that was the only thing I could communicate to the world. In the end, I accepted my role for humanity, even if it meant to be the blame for their wrongdoings. I asked you the other night what you thought of humans. You responded that without people, this world would still be a primal one, and that our presence here has greatly helped the planet evolve from civilization to civilization. I believe that to be true. However, have we evolved in the correct ways. The more nations that appear, the more conflicts emerge from those nations. In the early days, when ancient kings reigned, the people were unanimously united under them because they revered them as gods. But in the present day, where most countries choose who they want to be leader, there is always a group that opposes them and thinks the opposite, and those two groups begin to hate each other. You told me that it is human nature to forgive, that no matter how terrible an act of violence is, the other person could someway and somehow find it within their hearts to absolve that other person of their transgressions. Unless…" Hayashi's eyes widened._

" _...they've done something life-changingly cruel."_

" _Precisely. I'm glad you remember. Wouldn't you call my own past life changing? To go from an ordinary villager to a symbol of evil for the entire world, and to become immortalized as a force simply to be used by people to hurt other people for their own selfishness? The first time I was summoned for a Holy Grail War, about 80 years ago now, the master who had formed a contract with me was excited upon learning my identity because they thought that I would quickly deal with all of the other servants and masters as if they were nothing. But upon learning that I had no special powers, they shunned me and considered me a nuisance, because I was not strong enough to kill others. And so I ask you, Hayashi Tsukamoto. Why do humans behave this way? Why is everything always about power? It is not just an ancient way of thinking about things. The Age of Gods certainly relied upon strength more than wisdom, but even upon entering the Age of Man, there are still many who believe that strength is the answer. Wasn't that the answers to all of the wars fought? In order to seize the throne, in order to kick another country out of their own, simply just to rule over another? England, France, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, America, The Middle East, almost the entire world relies on force to accomplish their goals. We servants are cursed, you see; even though we are merely spirits whose real bodies died a long long time ago, we are able to recognize every wrong action that the world is repeating, but are unable to do anything about it. I suppose it's not surprising, given our pasts. Those who become heroes are almost guaranteed to have an unfortunate end. The flames. Do you see them?" He pointed out into the burning city._

" _Fire is all that awaits those who become heroes to their land. This was true for Mesopotamia, for Egypt, for Levantine Persia, for the Roman Emperors, for the Knights of Camelot, for the Ulster Heroes, for the Huns and Mongolians, for the European Empires, for modern day countries, and for the future. There will always be those who lead us into ruin, and those who rebuild from the ashes, only for it to crumble to dust all over again. What is the point of living in such a world? That is why I have been searching for a powerful and compatible Master to possess. In order to purge the world as it is now, and rebuild a new one, one that is aware of magecraft is needed so that we can take one step forward without having to take two steps backwards."_

 _Hayashi recalled what he told to the faction leader earlier._

" _...But the drawbacks far outweigh the advancements. It's a power that people would grow afraid of, and use to war against each other. They would summon servants all the time, and exhaust and corrupt the power of the Holy Grail even further. Our society would become apocalyptic and war-ridden. People are not the smartest decision makers, especially when it comes to something they can't understand."_

" _Oh? You're quoting yourself? You are smarter than I thought. But how can you know for sure without experiencing it for yourself? If you were to live in a world of magic, wouldn't it be far more advanced than a world of technology?"_

" _Perhaps it would be, but that doesn't mean you should reset the world to find out!" Angra whirled around, seeing Lorelei fly towards him, thrusting her palm into his chest, knocking him to the ground. She quickly nullified Hayashi's spell that was keeping him bound, and he was able to control his own body again. Hayashi got on top of Avenger and began to punch him over and over again with both fists. His eyes glowed red like they did before, and he began to roar like a monster._

" _Hayashi, calm down!" she called out. Avenger smirked as his body turned into spirit particles and went back to the throne._

" _I see that my efforts were not in vain. Some of my power has stayed behind inside of you. This is not our last meeting, Hayashi." He laughed, before all traces of him were gone._

" _Hayashi? Are you alright?" Lorelei asked, beginning to walk towards him._

" _GRAHHHHHHH!" She gasped as he turned on her, using fire magic to incinerate her coat and kick her away across the roof. Beginning to speed off after her, Zelretch stood in his way and cast a powerful barrier to prevent him from moving._

" _Who are you? Answer me!" he boomed._

" _I AM...ALL OF THE WORLD'S EVIL! AVENGER!" he screamed._

" _...Lorelei. Should I kill him?"_

" _No, please don't! Try to calm him down!"_

" _I'll do my best." Hayashi broke out of the binding and began to throw punches at Zelretch, who used Kaleidoscope to phase in and out of space, being able to outmaneuver him at every point. Appearing from above the next time, he used an earth magic to harden his body and slam down on top of him, knocking him unconscious._

" _Good. Now let's start fixing this mess."_

 _ **X**_

 _Slowly waking up, Hayashi found himself lying in a bed that was unfamiliar to him._

" _Oh! You're awake." He glanced over to see Lorelei, dressed in a blouse and pants, walk over to him and sit on the edge of the bed._

" _How long have I been out?"  
_

" _About two days."_

" _Damn it...what happened…?"_

" _Hayashi…" She looked at him with a concerned face, and suddenly everything came back to him._

" _No...Jack, Amrita...Florentia and Mom and Dad...Koharu…..!" He started to get up before collapsing onto the floor._

" _You're not well enough to walk around yet."_

" _Like hell I'm not!" He forced himself up, limping to the door._

" _Where are you going?"_

" _To find Koharu's body."_

" _Hayashi, she's already been moved to the morgue, along with your parents and everyone else. I'm afraid that Jack and Florentia's families are also prohibiting you to see them or go to their funeral."_

" _Have you explained that it wasn't really me?"_

" _Yes, I did, and they understand that, but they still blame you for deciding to summon a servant in the first place."_

" _I can't say I blame them...but still, Florentia and I were in love!"_

" _It seems that it doesn't matter to them. Hayashi, we have business to discuss about the aftermath of all of this. The funeral for your family has been paid for by the association, as well as a new house for you out of my own pocket. It's taking place in two days. We'll talk after that."_

" _I see...thank you." He went off to the bathroom to shower._

 _ **X**_

 _The funeral was a sad one, of course, and only a few people were there, mainly Hayashi himself, Lorelei, Zelretch, El-Melloi II, and a few other family friends who had forgiven Hayashi for the most part. Following the service and the burial, Lorelei pulled him aside, joined by Zelretch._

" _Listen, Hayashi...I know this isn't the greatest time, but this is urgent. After what happened, we have no choice but to afflict you with a sealing designation."_

" _Oh?"_

" _Because you turned into a pseudo-servant, and have a power unique to you while also remaining a possible threat in the future, it's our policy to give you one, whether we want to or not. You'll be given the title of hermit since you're still one of us, but you know the deal."_

" _Hmph. Fine. Then I get to request a leave of absence. I'm going to work at a different branch. I can't stay here, reminded of everything I did."_

" _Haha...I'll grant you this request, but there's no way one of our branches would be willing to take you in. I'm your only chance to continue working for us, Hayashi."_

" _I'll prove you wrong."_

… _._

 _But he didn't._

 _ **Tokyo**_

" _You want us to take you in? You must be joking!"_

 _ **Mumbai**_

" _Why hasn't the Clock Tower executed you yet? You don't deserve to be one of us!"_

 _ **Moscow**_

" _So you came to us? Why on earth would we give you a job here? Get lost, monster!"_

 _ **Beijing**_

" _You are a fool! At this point, you don't deserve to live after what you did!"_

 _ **Sydney**_

" _Freak! You belong in hell!"_

 _ **Cairo**_

" _You're a failure as a mage! Go kill yourself to be with your own kind on the Throne!"_

 _ **Berlin**_

" _What is London thinking, allowing you to travel as you please? You're sure as hell not going to find any help here."_

 _ **Rome**_

" _Perhaps before, but after what you pulled the other day, there's just no way. Go back to London."_

 _ **Paris**_

" _I'm afraid not. It would sully our reputation if we allowed you to work here."_

 _ **Madrid**_

" _I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. You're on your own. Your career as a mage is over."_

 _ **Rio de Janeiro**_

" _No. You should have already known this. You would have saved yourself the trouble of coming all the way here."_

 _ **Mexico City**_

" _You must think we're idiots to allow you to work here. Go away."_

 _ **Washington D.C.**_

" _So when Europe doesn't work out, you come here? You have even less of a chance. We're not going to let a savage murderer like you into our country."_

 _ **Montreal**_

" _So this was your last stop? Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not going to find any help here either. Go back home."_

' _I envy you, you know. I always poke fun at how you don't behave as a proper mage should, but you must be loving it.'_

" _No...I can't stand it...Koharu, what am I supposed to do…?" Hayashi sobbed._

 _ **London**_

 _Trudging up the stairs as slowly as possible, Hayashi quietly knocked on Lorelei's office door._

" _Come in." The door pushed open slightly as he walked in and dropped his bag onto the floor. Lorelei looked up, and folded her arms over her desk._

" _Well. You're back after all."_

" _Yes." The man standing before her was no longer the Hayashi she once knew. He was a shell of his former self, all life and happiness drained from his eyes, his posture no longer tall and strong, but now slumped over, and his gaze not even meeting hers._

" _Hayashi, I'm sorry. About everything that's happened. I'm guessing that you realized what the world now thinks of you when you went to our different branches?"_

" _Yes...none of them want anything to do with me…"_

" _I told you. Wee already wiped the memories of the normal citizens by making them think what happened was a natural disaster. However, the magical community is still aware of it. But give it time. If you continue to work here, it'll go away, and it will be like nothing ever happened."_

" _Alright."_

" _Although your position now will be a bit different from before. You are, in a sense, going to be my advisor, my right hand. I need to keep you close to me for a few different reasons."_

" _One of them being to keep an eye on me."_

" _Well, there's that. But like I said, there's multiple reasons. Another one of them is that because of your new powers due to a portion of Angra Mainyu's abilities staying within you, you are far too strong and skilled to be assigned to basic missions. As a result, you'll be doing private tasks for both myself and Lord Zelretch. We are the only superiors you need to worry about. Understood?"_

" _What about the Director?"_

" _Understood?" She asked again, more commanding this time._

" _...Yes."_

" _Good. Now then, I'll need you to sign this." She pulled out a document, and Zelretch came down from the back staircase, standing beside her. Hayashi stood at her other side._

" _In accordance with the laws of the Mage's Association, Hayashi Tsukamoto is hereby given a sealing designation and the title of hermit due to his dangerous ability of turning into a pseudo-servant and losing control of himself. Should he go rogue, he is to be hunted down by enforcers, and returned to us where his punishment will be decided. Signed, Barthomeloi Lorelei."_

" _Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."_

" _Hayashi Tsukamoto."_

 **X**

"...Ah!" Jeanne awoke with a start, her eyes snapping open. She was still in bed, in their hotel room. At least there was that. But what was that? Seeing all of Hayashi's past, the moments that led up to who he was now? It was not uncommon for servants who had become close to their masters to project some of their memories into their master's dreams. But that was usually fragmented, and it didn't work the other way around. So what was happening? Was it because he had the properties of a servant within them? Going into the bathroom and splashing water onto her face, she went out onto the balcony, surprised to find Hayashi there, leaning over the railing.

"Master? What are you doing awake?"

"I couldn't sleep….I told Nero about my past today."

"I see. It must have been hard."

"It's not as difficult as you might think. But it feels strange to tell one of you." He sighed, before lighting a joint and beginning to smoke.

"M-Master! You smoke?! It's not good for you!" She cried.

"Relax, I don't smoke cigarettes. This is marijuana." She tilted her head, unsure of what to think.

"Cannabis."

"Oh."

"Want to try?" He asked, handing it to her.

"Heavens no! I can't possibly do something like that!"

"Can't or won't?"

"Pick one." He chuckled.

"Master...I know you told me to share with you when something strange happens."

"Yeah? What happened?"

"I just had a strange dream. About you."

"...That's what's called a wet dream, Jeanne."

"NO! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" She shrieked, smacking his head. "I dreamt...about your past…" Hayashi began coughing uncontrollably, dropping his joint, as it rolled over the balcony.

"Damn it…I'm not rolling another one."

"Master, please...why did I have this? Master's don't usually project their own pasts into the dreams of servants."

"I don't know...but if you saw everything, then I guess you know now too. What did you think?"

"What did I think?! It was horrifying! How can you live with yourself?! I-I mean…I'm sorry, I…"

"No, no. It's fine. I'm going to tell you a secret. For the first few months after the incident, I used to take a gun and point it at myself in the mirror every day. Because every time I looked in it, the man staring back at me wasn't really me. But I never pulled the trigger. I could never bring myself to do it. Even though I have nothing worth living for anymore. I'm just an errand boy for the Association at this point. Lorelei might sugarcoat it, but that's all I do."

"Master...don't say that. I think you're a wonderful man who's just been through too much."

"Thanks."

"Can I ask something else?"

"Sure." The two sat down next to each other.

"Why do you still keep me around? After what I did in Aachen?"

"Ah. The Alter form?" She nodded slowly.

"Well for one, you're hotter than holy hell."

"HAYASHI!" She screamed, pushing him away.

"Alright, alright, sorry." He laughed. "In all seriousness, because I see myself in you. I don't want you to become a full on Avenger, and so I'm looking out for you to make sure that you stay this way, at least as long as I can."

"I see." She smiled softly. "Thank you for being honest with me."

"Of course. Hey...what do you think of…"

"Yes?"

"No...nevermind."

"...Alright." The two continued to stare up at the moonlight until going back to bed shortly after.

 **End.**

 **And thus concludes Part 1 of this story.**


	5. Part 2: Bran

**Anyone able to summon Edmond during the last event? I got him on the second roll. Now I need Nightingale and Billy the Kid, who I've rolled for five times now, and haven't gotten either D: D: Anyways, enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Jeanne Alter: Run (Rainbow Kitten Surprise)**

 **Bran Castle: Main Title (Castlevania OST) [The series, not the game]**

 **Kato vs. Eric:** 英霊剣豪七番勝負 英霊剣豪戦 **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Carmilla: Frostglimmer (Derek and Brandon Fiechter)**

 **Nero vs. Carmilla: Orphan of Kos (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Altera vs. Beowulf: Lightning Fire Dragon's Firing Hammer (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Fistfight: Battle for Camelot (Tartalo Music)**

 **Chasing Abigail Around: Magot's Dance (Bleach OST)**

 **Abby's Transformation:** 疑心暗鬼【亜種特異点Ⅳ 異端なるセイレム】 **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Final Transformation:** 魔女裁判【亜種特異点Ⅳ 異端なるセイレム 】 **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Abigail vs. Jeanne: Abigail Battle Theme (Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Vlad: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (J.S. Bach)**

 **Master Avenger: Lacrimosa (W.A. Mozart)**

 **Everyone vs. Edmond: Amygdala (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Hayashi and Vlad Talk: Tense Encounter (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Hayashi vs. Vlad: I Fight For Myself (Castlevania OST)**

 **Avenger Hayashi vs. Vlad: Ultra Instinct Reborn (Dragon Ball Super OST)**

 **Avenger Hayashi vs. Dracula: Trevor Fights Alucard (Castlevania OST)**

 **Hayashi Meets Master Avenger: Main Theme (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Hayashi vs. Master Avenger: Cleric Beast (Bloodborne OST)**

 **True Name Reveal and Enfer Chateau d'If: Omen (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Hayashi and Florence: Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 2 in Eb Major (Frederic Chopin)**

"Bran, Braşov County, Transylvania, Romania." Hayashi recited, the others listening.

"If I recall, that area is associated heavily with vampires." Florence said.

"That's only because of the Dracula novel. Although it was home to Vlad the Impaler, who the book was based off of."

"Then it's safe to assume that he's the leader this time, considering that he's a powerful Lancer class servant. I've seen him in the Throne occasionally."

"Then that must be the case. Although it begs the question of who he'd bring with him. I guess we'll just find out when we get there. It'll be about a four hour flight."

"Master, are you sure you're okay to fight again? Against such powerful servants?" Katou asked.

"I'll be alright. I've gotten a good amount of rest, and with my accelerated healing factor, I'm as good as new right now."

After breakfast, they packed their things and went out to the car to load it up. Leaning against it, smoking, was Jeanne Alter.

"Jeanne?" Hayashi asked, going on guard.

"Relax, Master. I'm only here because the Saintess is tired, and taking a nap. Whenever she's not here, I'll be." she smirked.

Turning to him, he could see that she was dressed in a black zip up dress that left a good amount of her cleavage exposed, as well as a dark blue coat over it, with orange trim, and black fur cuffs and collar. She wore a silver necklace with a pendant as well, black leggings, and black boots. She had a pair of sunglasses over her head, and, as stated earlier, was smoking.

"Alright, then. Everyone put your stuff in." Hayashi, of course, drove, while Alter sat in the front with him. Nightingale, Nero, and Altera sat in the second row while Nobunaga and Kato sat in the back.

"Master, this stuff is pretty good, you know. I don't know why the Saintess refused you last night." Alter chuckled.

"Because she's the opposite of you. She's not the type to do something like this."

"I'm going to make her one day." Alter sneered.

"I'll enjoy watching it." As much as Hayashi felt a bit uneasy around Alter, he had to admit that there were some things about her that were enticing. Ruler Jeanne was such a sweet and proper girl, while Avenger Jeanne was tomboyish and daring, which was kind of hot. To think that Jeanne had this kind of split personality inside of her.

 **X**

Their flight wasn't so bad, but unfortunately, by the time they arrived in Bran, with the castle in sight, the sun was already down.

"We'll be staying at the nearby hotel, Brătescu Mansion. Once we get situated, we'll head up to the castle." Hayashi parked, and the seven of them went inside.

"Bună seara. Ce faci?" (Good evening, how are you?)

"Ei bine, multumesc. Ne întoarcem." (Well, thank you. We're checking in.)

"Master, since when can you speak Romanian?" Jeanne asked.

"I came up with a translation spell. Anything that they say, I hear back in English, and anything I say, they hear back in their native tongue. There should be a reservation under Tsukamoto." He told the greeter.

"Da aici ești. Am trei persoane în familia ta, două în suita imperială și două în luxul romantic." (I have you for three in the family suite, two in the imperial suite, and two in the romantic luxury.)

"Este corect." (That's correct)

"Foarte bine, dacă mă urmărești, te rog." (Very well then, if you'd follow me please.)

 **X**

"Master, it would appear that we have visitors."

"Yes, I could already detect their presences when they arrived. We should stall them as much as possible until the moon rises. We should all get ready to fight."

 **X**

Walking up the steps of the castle, they opened the main door. But walking inside, space seemed to be a bit restricted, due to the castle becoming a museum recently.

"Master, you can't really expect us to fight in here, can you?" Archer asked.

"Hmm…" As they looked around thinking, a reality marble seemed to be employed, and suddenly the castle was much larger and longer than before, with no breakable items nearby, and a much more medieval look to it.

"Well that's helpful, but I wonder how…?" Hayashi asked himself.

"What do you mean?' Nightingale asked.

"It's just that...this castle hasn't really changed over the centuries. It's a museum now, sure, but a reality marble such as this...it's changed the layout and structure entirely."

"Come to think of it, that is odd." Jeanne thought. They began walking through the halls, all of them now wearing their regular combat outfits. Before long, a servant blocked their way.

He was pretty tall, standing at 6'3". He didn't wear any shirt, though he did have a thin gold necklace, a brown shoulder guard on his right shoulder, and two spiked wrist guards on his forearms. He had an old viking style skirtlike brown armor on his waist, with a waistcoat, and wielded a sturdy brown shield with a blood red gem in the center. He had relatively long messy light brown hair, and had...horns coming out of his head? He wielded a large and powerful black battleaxe with dark red markings all over it.

"Servant, Berserker! Eric Bloodaxe! Now give me BLOOD!" He wasted no time in dashing towards Hayashi's party, readying his axe to swing. However, he was blasted aside by Kato's rockets.

"Master. I would like you to leave him to me. You should continue onwards."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I can handle someone like him with ease. He is a Berserker, after all. A fighting style is almost nonexistent."

"Alright then, let's get going." He prepared to fight them as they ran past, but Assassin teleported behind him and kicked him upwards before slicing his stomach and kicking him away, back towards the entrance.

"Assassin, true name Kato Danzo. This is where you fall, Viking King."

As the others continued through the hall, they soon found themselves by a flight of stairs. After travelling up and going down another long hallway, they were met by another servant.

This one was a female, and wore something akin to a wedding dress, with a long blue veil, and holding a large club like weapon. She seemed to have some kind of electric device over her head, and a sort of mask that came just short of covering her eyes, with a gold spike jutting out in front of her forehead. She had short pink hair.

"Berserker...Frankenstein…." she muttered, a bit of electricity sparking from her weapon.

"Master, I can take this one." Nobunaga stepped forward. "Berserkers are easy to handle. All you have to do is overwhelm them with force." She grinned.

"Alright." The rest of them continued onward, but this time they weren't pursued.

"Now then...my class is Archer. True name is Oda Nobunaga." She grinned. "I'll be sending you back to the throne."

 **X**

Kato had to admit, this wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. Berserker wasn't much compared to other Berserkers. However, what he did have was resilience. No matter how much she beat him down, he got back up again. She hadn't used either of her Noble Phantasms yet, but was starting to contemplate them. Dashing around to his back, she kicked again, but he blocked it with his axe, holding it over his shoulder. Pivoting and swinging the weapon, knocking her away, he gathered energy around him, growling.

'Mad enhancement...ah!' His abilities increased, and he leapt up towards her, smashing his fist into her stomach, cracking the wall.

"Gah…" She opened her arm blades, cutting him so that he let go and allowed her to slide to the ground.

'Master…I must not lose, for Master's sake!' Standing up again, she stretched her arms out and began rotating them, firing numerous bullets at him, all of which he blocked with his axe. Dashing towards her again, she quickly and nimbly dodged his strikes and kicked his chin upwards, but he then caught her leg and slammed her into the ground. Biting her lip, she broke free of his grasp and spun around on her hands, kicking him away.

"It's time to finish this...Mechanical Illusionary Art: Bull Swallowing!" She placed her arms together and rotated them, releasing her first noble phantasm.

"Evil Wind Death Storm!" Berserker grinned and became surrounded in even more dark red magic, running towards her.

"You're going to get crushed!"

"BLOODBATH CROWN!" He laughed, ignoring her move and creating a whirlwind of energy, knocking her around with his newfound strength.

"K-Khh….." She fell to the ground, heavily damaged. He also did, however. She slowly looked up at him, struggling to stay conscious.

"You must be slightly confused…" he gasped. "Ah, pardon the sudden tone shift, my name is Gunnhild. I was Eric's wife back in our time, as well as a mage myself. My husband can sometimes be...hard to control, and so I speak through him. You see, the Noble Phantasm we just used, called Bloodbath Crown, is a recreation of him massacring his family to ascend to the throne. He ignores all damage when it occurs, in order to injure and kill the enemy. Afterwards, we realize our wounds and become heavily fatigued. But it looks like it worked well enough on you, didn't it? This is it for you." He lifted the axe up, and she was just able to fire one of her fists into his face, knocking him off balance as it came back to her. She jumped up, crossing her arms over each other and extending her blades.

"I hate to use this but I have no choice! Black Arts Decapitation Method: Moonflower!" Dashing past him, his body was sliced up into five flower petal shapes before dispersing.

"I curse you….Assassin…."

"I cannot be cursed...I am not human…" She gasped, trying to recover her strength. "I took more damage than I wished to...I will have to speak to Master about this later…" She began walking further into the castle, trying to catch up with the others.

 **X**

On the other hand, Archer was having a fairly easy time dealing with the other Berserker. Being the long distance type really put Frankenstein in a hard place as she was continuously shot over and over again. Of course, she was always able to get back up through sheer willpower, but would just end up being hit again.

"I'm bored. At this point, I should have gone with Master and fought one of your stronger allies." She yawned.

"RRAAAAAAAGGHHH!" She screamed, her weapon opening and surging with green electricity.

Oda snapped her fingers and a rifle appeared on her lap, which she picked up and fired, knocking Berserker back into the ground again.

"Let's see...today was my turn with Master's phone, so let's see what he has...Pinterest? What's that?" She began to browse through his apps until Frankenstein stood back up. Once again she opened up her weapon and brought it above her head, ready to strike the ground this time. Nobu stood up and sighed, putting Hayashi's phone away.

"I will...kill you….! Blasted Tree!" She slammed the ground with her club, sending green sparking lightning everywhere.

"I guess I better take care of you now before that hits me. Three Thousand Worlds!" Her three thousand guns appeared from all angles throughout the hall and from a snap of her fingers, all of them fired simultaneously, obliterating Berserker's body and cancelling her Noble Phantasm. Walking up to her broken body, Oda unsheathed her sword and stabbed her through the heart, dispersing her and sending her back to the Throne.

"I suppose I should catch up with Master then."

 **X  
**

Continuing on through the halls, the team was stopped again by another servant, this time a beautiful one. She had shoulder length curly white hair, and striking yellow eyes, and wore a pale shade of lipstick. She wore a rather revealing and some would say almost fetishized outfit, consisting of thigh high black boots with silver wire, a long red dress with thin black fabric trim that was open in the front, something akin to a harness covering her large breasts and privates, a royal medieval red collar that came out far behind her, and long black silk sleeves that had bat symbols on them. On her head was a metal spiked headdress, and over her outfit was a kind of metal exoskeleton that had various torture tools hanging from the bottom. She carried a large gothic staff made from the same metal, that had chains wrapped around it.

"Ara, who might we have here?" She asked, licking her lips.

Everyone remained silent before Hayashi bluntly stated…

"She's hot."

"Master! I thought we were going to work on that!" Alter slammed her fist onto his head.

"You do have a bit of Jeanne in you, after all." He smirked.

"I am Jeanne! What is that supposed to mean?!"

"I meant Ruler!"

The woman giggled, bringing their attention back to her.

"You are not wrong. I am beautiful. Though, to retain this beauty takes a certain amount of sacrifices."

"Sacrifices…?" Nero asked cautiously.

"Indeed. Let me see what I have to work with. The man will of course not do. Hmmm…" She examined each of them, before stopping at Nero.

"Yes. You might be nice." She laughed, placing the tip of her staff against the floor.

"That's right. I never did introduce myself. I'm an Assassin. You may call me Carmilla."

Hayashi quickly frowned.

"Hmph. She's hot, but she's a total sadist. You're Elizabeth Báthory, aren't you?" He pointed a finger at her accusingly.

"I'd rather not be called by that name." She growled. "You see, my intolerable teenage self is also possible to summon as a servant, and uses that name. I don't like to be associated with that brat."

"How did you know?" Nightingale asked.

"There's a novel that was published in the late 1800s called 'Carmilla' that's about a female vampire. It uses Elizabeth as the model for the character. It was the inspiration for 'Dracula.'"

"Oh~ Who knew that I was the one who caused my Great-Uncle so much misery?" She laughed.

"Master, give me some background on this woman. I've never seen her on the Throne before, and am not aware of her legend." Nero turned to Hayashi.

"Well...she was a Hungarian Countess during the mid to late middle ages. She's known as history's most prolific female serial killer. Between 1585 and 1609, she kidnapped, tortured, and killed almost 700 young girls with various weapons. Her most infamous anecdote is that she used to bathe in the blood of virgins to keep herself beautiful. People started referring to her as the Blood Countess and Countess Dracula. She was caught and apprehended in 1609, but her family's influence prevented her from appearing at her trial. She was confined in a windowless room in her castle for the rest of her life, and she died only five years later. Many people believed she was a vampire."

"Hm. It seems you're not much of a _Heroic_ Spirit, are you?" Nero asked.

"You shouldn't be the one to lecture me, Mad Empress." She smiled, sliding her long blue nails across her face.

"Master. You may leave her to me." She stepped forward, summoning her blade.

"Be careful." They continued onwards again.

"Why don't you try to stop them?" Nero asked the vampress.

"Because even if you all make it to the end, my Master will annihilate you all."

"Your master...Vlad?"

"Hm? Oh, no, no. My uncle is powerful, but he is not that powerful." she giggled. "It takes a special kind of servant to be able to fight a team like you. But enough about him. Let's focus on the here and now." She closed her eyes and sniffed the air.

"Your scent...you are not a virgin. You have had intercourse before, and had a daughter, correct?"

"You're getting a little too personal for my liking." she blushed.

'Wait a minute...she could tell by my scent…?'

" _Hmph. She's hot, but she's a total sadist."_

'Was she really so familiar with torturing girls that she could tell how experienced we were just by smelling the air?'

"Yes, dear. I can see it on your face. I know every in and out to a woman that there is. And I know when I see a treasure mine of a body." She smirked, licking her nails.

"So you're after my body after all." She stepped back.

"Indeed. At this point, it matters little to me whether my victims are virgins or not. Considering that my opponents will be Heroic Spirits, the majority of them will not be. Although seeing you up close now...you're quite the looker, Mad Empress. You will become mine!"

Her staff began to glow red before she swung it behind her, creating a sea of blood that spiked up and stabbed Nero, making her cry out. Then teleporting by the use of shadows, she appeared in front of the girl and smacked her head with her weapon, knocking her to the ground before stomping her boot onto her groin, Nero screaming.

"I heard you defeated Romulus and Hector. You can't be this weak, can you?" Elizabeth laughed.

"Aestus...Domus Aurea!" Nero created her theatre, regaining some strength and managing to get her opponent off of her.

"Ow...this is embarrassing...I might need Master to heal me down there later…" she groaned, rubbing it.

"Now then! Open the gate! The curtain to the solo stage draws! Behold my talent! Listen to the thunderous applause! Praise it! The Golden Theatre! Laus Saint Claudius!" Grabbing her sword, she cast a veil of flames around it and dashed towards Carmilla, slicing outwards.

"I don't think so." Carmilla teleported away again, avoiding the attack. As soon as Nero turned around again, Assassin had closed the distance between them and slashed her with her nails, which had a reinforcement spell on them to make them act like claws, scraping her and making her fall over again.

"Poor you...look at your face...it's all scratched up~ I might have overdone it a bit. You're far too ugly now to give me sexual pleasure. I'd be better off adding you to my list of victims. A shame that body will go to waste. But what choice do I have?" She sighed, bringing her hand up to her lips again.

"Blood, blood, blood…! Eternal beauty, an eternal banquet, it is time for the end of the ugliness of old age-Phantom Maiden!" A dark purple portal appeared above their head, and falling out of it came an iron maiden, which opened and shut itself around Nero, the spikes digging into her skin.

"EEEEAAAAAGHGHHHHHHH!"

"Fuhahahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Carmilla laughed maniacally at her screams. As soon as the sound disappeared, she turned and closed her eyes.

"Perhaps you weren't as skilled as I thought you were, Empress."

"Want to say that again?" she growled. Carmilla's eyes shot open and she turned around, getting sliced across her navel before jumping away. Saber landed opposite her, the only thing changed about her appearance being that her hair was no longer tied up. Other than that, there were only minor scratches.

"You should be dead!" Elizabeth coughed out.

"Should I? Take a look around you. Domus Aurea is still in effect. It never went away. You see, the greatest thing about my Noble Phantasm is not the strength of the strikes I deliver...it is the theatre itself. I constructed this, it is my creation, and it is arguably what I am most well known for. While it is active, any aspirations I wish to achieve become possible. If I wish to be an unparalleled artist, it will happen; if I wish to become the fastest chariot driver in the world, it will happen; if I wish to be invincible, it will happen." She narrowed her eyes at Carmilla, who realized what had happened.

"You took no damage…"

"That's precisely right. But that's not all. Since this is my space, I become stronger the longer we stay in here, while you become weaker. I deliberately made myself weaker in order to make you think you had the advantage. After all, you're smarter than Romulus and more attentive than Hector. You would have been a tougher and more cautious opponent."

"I was a fool…"

"The end draws near. Clear the way! The emperor makes her passage! Sunlight of spring. Dancing of flowers. The fragrant winds of June brush against your cheeks, Blessing beyond the stars. Open, Nupitae Domus Aurea! Sing, Fax Caelestis!" Swinging her sword in a circle before bringing it to her side, she sliced Carmilla's body in half before it was engulfed in flames, sent back to the Throne.

"I have to get back to Hayashi…" Nero began to go back to Hayashi before wincing and looking down.

"Ow...it still hurts...that woman's boot was really tough. I'll have to ask Master about it…" She limped off.

 **X**

Continuing on, they were stopped by yet another servant. This time it was a man with short spiky dirty blonde hair. He was very muscular, with scars spread throughout the upper half of his body. He had a green dragon tattoo on his shoulders, and wore cloth wraps on his hands, and baggy gray pants with a golden lion belt buckle. He didn't wear a shirt. He wielded two large weapons, chained together. One of them was a gray sword, and the other a large gray club but with the hilt of a sword.

"Well well...so there's still some of you left. You did well to get past Carmilla."

"We just split up. And I know Nero will win against her."

"Yes, you're probably right. She's not much of a physical fighter. Unlike myself." He grinned.

"So which one of you wants him?" Hayashi asked.

"It's my turn." Altera stepped forward. "You guys can go on ahead."

"Alright then." The last three of them went off, leaving the two warriors to each other.

"So...care to tell me your true name?" she asked.

"Oh, sure. It's Beowulf. I'm a Berserker."

"I see. You said you were a warrior, correct?"

"Indeed. Why don't you tell me your true name?"

"Altera. I'm a Saber." 

"I see. So then you are the one who destroyed western Europe."

"Indeed. Why don't we see if I can destroy you too?" Summoning her Photon Ray, she dashed towards him, and he grinned, grabbing his own sword and clashing with her. Using his other arm, he swung his other weapon above his head and towards her, trying to crash down. Changing her sword's position to horizontal, she was able to block both weapons, although she was struggling a bit. He kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying back against the wall.

"How does it feel? Your previous opponents...I'm guessing that their power lied within their weapons or abilities. I'm a bit different. I'm more of a physical strength person. I'm strong because of my body's own strength, not the strength of my weapons."

"You're not the only one. My physical strength is nothing to laugh at either."

"You don't look like you're that muscular, forgive me for saying."

"Oh, really? Did you know that I possess the Natural Body Skill?"

"Oh?"

"I was given this perfect shape since I was born. No matter how much I eat, I will not gain any weight. My strength is also superior to most servants that exist in the Throne."

"I see. Then show me this strength!" The two ran at each other again, and Altera was able to fight him evenly, knocking away his weapons with her own.

"That's not going to be enough!" This time he used his larger weapon, and her block was unsuccessful, getting pummeled into the ground before kicked back up by him and sliced by his sword, kicking her against the wall.

He grinned and examined his weapons, as their forms began to change. The sword became red, and the club became cracked and dark red, kind of looking like molten rock.

Altera winced as she got up, looking around.

'If I could just find…' She looked around at the rubble that was created from her crash. Picking up a sharp piece of stone, she focused her gaze on it.

"Civilization Erasure." The stone transformed into another Photon Ray, allowing her to dual wield.

"There. That'll do the trick." Dashing over again, she went on the offensive, striking both of his weapons continuously with both of her swords. This time, Beowulf was unable to keep up, and got slashed multiple times.

"Well...you appear to be quite the bloodthirsty warrior…" he gasped. Pointing one of her blades at him, she tilted her head.

"It's all I've ever known. Now tell me, what's with your weapons? They changed."

"Ah, so you noticed. This one…" He held up the sword. "...Is called Hrunting. It's the sword I used to kill Grendel's mother. Each time I draw blood from an opponent, it's absorbed by the blade. And this one." He held up the club.

"Is called Naegling. The change in color are signs of it breaking down since I used it."

'Hm. There must be more to it than that. There has to be some kind of skill that comes with it changing appearance. I guess I'll just have to find out.' The two began going at each other again, the sound of clashing steel ringing out throughout the room. Naegling seemed to be growing even bigger, and a blue light overtook the center of it, signifying that it was cracking more and even faster than before.

'It's just about ready…!' Beowulf grinned. Pushing forward, he smashed her Photon Ray copy, and kneed her in the stomach, able to slash her a few more times. Altera, gritting her teeth, regained her balance through a handstand and kicked him away.

Holding out Hrunting, he grinned as the sword evolved further, becoming larger and almost maroon in color.

"It's time. Hey, you're a warrior. Have you ever fought with nothing but your bare hands?"

"Of course. My people and I used to spar all the time, and so we did so wearing nothing but minimal clothes and using nothing but our fists."

"Well then, what do you say we get started?!" He held up both of his weapons, which began to crack and finally disappear, the remaining aura surrounding him.

"When my weapons reach their final stage, I can destroy both of them to revive the power I had in life! Prepare yourself! This is the root of my conflict! The point is, I'm a guy who will stand and punch and kick my way through to victory! GRENDEL BUSTER! ORAORAORAORAAAA!"

The two of them ran at each other, and Beowulf began to deliver a flurry of punches and kicks before gathering power into his right fist and knocking her back against the wall. Altera wiped her mouth and ran back at him, delivering a right hook to his face. He tried to deliver a left roundhouse kick, but she caught it and spun him back around before grabbing his shoulders and propelling herself over him, delivering a series of blows to his face and stomach.

"Damn...you really hit hard, don't you?!"

"You're a king as well, aren't you? Like all of my previous opponents."

"Yes." The two continued exchanging blows.

"It seems that you are the closest to my personalities. You are more of a warrior king, but it appears that you are not as strong as I am." She kicked him back and punched him into the wall.

"That's not enough!" He slammed his fist into her, making her cough up blood, and knocked her back again, unleashing another Grendel Buster on her.

"Fly away!"

"Guh…!" He delivered a swift uppercut that knocked the wind out of her, her body falling onto the floor. Beowulf fell onto his knees, gasping.

No sooner had he looked over at her that he got kicked away, groaning. Altera slowly stood up and swung her arm around a few times.

"You are strong. But like I said, you are not as strong as me."

"Damn...have I really lost…?"

"Yes." She walked over and picked him up by the throat before gathering Photon Ray energy around her fist and punched through his chest, making Beowulf disappear. Altera picked up her sword and slowly walked through the hall, continuing onward.

 **X**

"How much longer does this castle go on for?" Hayashi asked, rubbing his head.

"We're running out of servants, too. Hopefully there's not too many more." Nightingale mentioned.

"Speak of the Devil." Alter stopped once they entered a large room, where a young girl stood in the center.

She was only a preteen, 12 years old. She had long cream colored hair, and wore dark sandals, a white dress underneath a poofy black one, and a small hat on her head. She had small black and orange ribbons in her hair, on her outfit, and around her ankles.

"Oh, great. And who are you?" Hayashi asked, exasperated.

"Um...I'm Abigail...Abigail Williams…But you can call me Abby...KYAH!" She jumped away as Hayashi cast a fire spell that exploded under her.

"WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She screamed.

"I know about the Salem Witch Trials. I can't wait to burn you alive." Abby screamed, running around to avoid his spells.

"Master, with all due respect, she's only a kid." Jeanne looked at him.

"Hey, you were fighting when you were not that much older than her. Besides, she works on their side, we have to kill her."

"Why don't you leave her to me, then?" Stepping forward, Jeanne cast her black swords, that started following her back and forth, the poor girl still running away.

"This is almost like a comedy routine." Nightingale stared blankly at the two, who seemed to be so comfortable torturing this young girl.

"STOP IT!" She screamed, manifesting pure white glowing tentacles that knocked Jeanne back.

"Oh? What was that?" Alter stood up and got her flag ready. "Master, you should get going before this fight gets serious." She grinned at him.

"Aww...I wanted to be the one to kill her…"

"Don't worry, I'll tell you how I did it later."

"...Alright. Let's go Florence."

"Yes." The two continued onwards.

"Now then." Jeanne turned back to her opponent, but her smile faltered when she noticed that Abby was changing. She was gripping her head in pain, like she had a migraine.

"What's wrong with you? Oh well. La Grondement Du-!" But she was interrupted, getting knocked away by a beam of light.

"Ow! What the-?!" She gasped, as the girl now stood in a different form. The only piece of clothing she seemed to be actually wearing anymore was a pair of loose black panties. Around her neck and trailing down to just below her thighs was a cloak, each piece of fabric in the shape of a butterfly. Her right leg had a dark blue stocking on it, and she still wore her small heels. Perhaps the most noticeable change was that her hat had turned into more of a witch's hat, with black and orange bow ties on it, and cream colored bears on it too. Floating behind her was a black metal circle, with keys attached to it all around. She wielded two large black keys as weapons. Her forehead also had a keyhole shape in it.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. Foreigner, Abigail Williams." Her voice was quite a bit more calm and emotionless now.

"Foreigner? What the hell is that? A new class?"

"No. Not new. I've been dead for hundreds of years now. But my class is not one to typically be able to be utilized by human mages. Foreigners are called such because our powers are otherworldly. Observe." She held her keys parallel to the ground and moved them forward, entering a rainbow colored portal with a surrounding dark halo. She turned the keys sideways, and all around Jeanne, portals of the same kind opened up, and dark gray tentacles came out and tried to smack her around. She twirled her flag around and slashed them away, keeping herself clean of any wounds. Abigail used the chance to run up and attack with her keys directly, a purple light surrounding the weapons. Jeanne countered, and due to both her body size and the size of her weapon, her strength was easily able to knock the younger girl away.

Abby summoned tentacles behind her, and then fired lasers from both them, and the keyhole in her forehead.

Jeanne was sent flying back, unable to block all of them.

"Damn it...if only I had the Saintess' stupid Noble Phantasm…I can't believe I'm saying that…"

"You're Jeanne d'Arc, right? Why are you so...angry? I thought you were supposed to be humble."

"She's my other half. We're sort of sharing a body right now." She held her hand out, and a burst of flame exploded under Abigail, who dove out of the way. Jeanne then unsheathed her sword and cast dark lances above her, spinning and rotating downwards, stabbing both her and her tentacles to keep her in place. Jeanne then ran up and attacked her multiple times with both her flag and her sword. Abigail, now beaten and bloodied, fell over, leaving Jeanne the victor.

Or so she thought.

As soon as she turned around, the girl, with almost no conscious movements, was lifted back up by the tentacles she used. Her body was enveloped in light, undergoing another transformation.

Upon reappearance, her skin color color had become darker, emulating the pale gray color that the tentacles were. A few of them were now always active, and remained behind her, taking the place of the keyring from before. Her cloak had become even thinner, only about three long strands were all that was covering her now, and her hair had become longer and silver as well. The hat she wore now had large orange flower decorations on it, and the keys she used had evolved, becoming bigger and with a more intricate design. She didn't wear any shoes anymore, instead a black pair of long socks, with a matching pair of black gloves, and her eyes were glowing magenta, as well as a purple eye glowing from within her keyhole.

"I've become aware of the gate. Thou shan't see it. Suffer." She placed the keys onto the ground and turned them, opening portals that released more tentacles.

Lighting her flag on fire, Jeanne slashed them up, running around to avoid the incoming attacks.

"Fool. You cannot kill a god. Sut-Typhon is far too strong to deal with concepts like death."

Jeanne stopped running and planted her flag into the ground.

"I am no longer a believer in gods. I slay them, I do not worship them."

"Blasphemer! Witch!"

"You are the only witch I can see."

"You will pay for those words...Your mana, pour it into me."

" _Saintess, wake up!"_ _Alter shook her awake._

" _Ah! What? What's going on?"_

" _What's going on is we need to switch! Just for a moment! Use your Noble Phantasm as soon as you get out. Alright?"_

" _But…"_

" _Just do it!"_ The two switched bodies, and Ruler Jeanne stood outside now, looking around.

"The forbidden nostrum...I am the one that shows the way to it! Let's release it...Ygnailh...ygnailh thflthkh'ngha...the Silver Key in my hand, materialized from the void and touched by these god that is my Father...I will be the one in whom that essence dwells…! Pass beyond the sleep of roses, and arrive at the Final Gate! Qliphoth Rhizome."

"Luminosite Eternelle!" A mass of tentacles left her body and rushed towards Jeanne, trying to engulf her. However, her Noble Phantasm blocked the attack.

"What?!"

" _Switch back!"_ Jeanne went back into her subconscious and Alter came back out.

"All evil is here. The time for revenge has come! This is the roar of my soul that was polished by hatred...La Grondement Du Haine!" Flames spilled out from under her and engulfed Foreigner, making her scream. When the attack finally subsided, she was heavily burned as Jeanne walked up to her.

"Please...no...I don't want to be hanged…"

"Don't worry, you won't be." She said with a reassuring smile. Abigail looked at her in wonder before sighing happily. Yet only a second later, she was impaled by multiple black stakes, killing her. Blood dripped from her mouth before she disappeared and was sent back to the throne.

"You were impaled instead. I think Master went...this way." She began walking down the hall again.

 **X**

Hayashi and Florence continued on before coming to a large set of metal doors.

"He must be behind here. Listen, stay close to me, okay? I don't want you getting hurt. Just heal me when I need it."

"Understood." The two pushed them open, and upon entering, discovered a single man playing an organ.

The two of them stood watching, listening to his piece.

"I know this song. It is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor." Nightingale looked at Hayashi.

"What is this, the room of cliches?" Hayashi sighed. Upon noticing them, the man stood up and walked over to them, but the organ continued to play as if he was still sitting there.

He had long blonde hair with small teal streaks in it, and a small beard and mustache, plus piercing yellow eyes. He wore what looked to be old Romanian Royal garb, a tan sweater, dark blue waistcloth, and black coat over both of them, outlined with gold trim. The waistcloth was very tattered and worn down, and had a teal tint to some of it as well. He had on black pants and tall black boots.

"Well...we finally found you, Master Lancer."

"Hm? Master Lancer?" he asked, in a deep and imposing voice.

"That's right. This is your castle, after all. You are the leader of this group, are you not?"

"...I am not, no. I am not the Master Lancer you referred to. That title belongs to someone different."

"What?! Well then who is your leader?!"

 **X**

Another story above the two of them, a man sat on a throne, one of his legs folded over the other, slightly moving up and down. He was reading a book. Outside of the room, all of the servants that had split up arrived outside of the doors that led into the final room.

"Huh? How are we all together again? Didn't we all take separate paths to get here?" Nero asked.

"Yeah, I didn't meet any of you along the way." Jeanne stated.

"Master's not here yet?" Altera asked.

"No, I suppose not. Unless he's already inside. We shouldn't wait though. He'd want us to start even without him, as long as we don't get into any danger." Nobunaga walked forward and pushed the doors open, walking inside, and taking notice of the man sitting near them.

"Ah. Company." He closed his book, the novel becoming a dark blue aura and seemingly absorbed by him.

"Master's not here." Katou pointed out.

"Hayashi Tsukamoto, correct? He's most likely dealing with Vlad right now. I arranged the castle in a way that all of the paths that he didn't take would end up coming to this room."

"How is that possible?"

"It is a Reality Marble, and I am in command of the one who it belongs to. I am the Master Avenger."

"Avenger?!" Alter asked, stepping forward.

"Oh, another one like me? How fascinating. Although, I can sense that your fighting capacity is nowhere near my own."

"We'll see about that!" Jeanne readied her spear, but he was already behind her in the blink of an eye.

"Huh?!" She spun around.

"My power is more than you can comprehend."

Now that they could see him up close, they saw that he was wearing a nice looking old fashioned gray suit, a white dress shirt, blue tie, vest, and jacket. He had a hat on as well, and wore a blue cloak over everything. He had messy white hair and angry yellow eyes. On his chest was a gold medallion, that seemed to channel power throughout his body, giving him an aura of blue electricity and black flames.

"Regardless of whether or not you're stronger, you said that you're the Master Avenger, which means that you're allied with Angra Mainyu." Nero glared at him.

"Perhaps it does. Are you going to lure me into a fight? I wouldn't advise it."

"To hell with what you advise." Altera ran after him, swinging her sword. He dodged it by sidestepping then slashing her away with one of his hands, morphed into a claw thanks to the dark flames surrounding him. Hitting the wall, she winced, falling forward and shaking a bit.

"Altera…!" Nero gasped, surprised that she was defeated that easily. She was the strongest one of their group, after all.

"Laus Saint Claudius-!" Nero began to use her Noble Phantasm, but was stopped when he kicked her and sped around to her back, firing a blast of black energy and blue lightning that engulfed her and knocked her away.

Kato attacked next, releasing her arm blades and spinning around from the wheels on her feet. He was still able to predict and dodge all of the moves, then kick her in the stomach, sending her flying into Altera.

Nobunaga tried next, firing multiple shots at him, but he once again dodged them flawlessly, and gathered black fire into his hand, launching an inferno at her, defeating her.

Jeanne, the last one, grabbed her flag and leapt towards him. He jumped up and stepped onto the spike, knocking it into the ground. Jumping up again and spinning around, he kicked her in the face, then proceeding to deliver another series of blows against her, knocking her down.

"He's moving way too fast. How is this possible?" Kato asked, standing up.

"He's using an ability, there's no way someone can move that fast on their own." Jeanne stated, the rest of them slowly standing up as well.

"Hit him with everything we've got! Laus St. Claudius!"

"Photon Ray!"

"La Grondement Du Haine!"

"Three Thousand Worlds!"

"Mechanical Illusionary Art: Bull Swallowing!"

As all of their attacks came near him, he grinned maniacally, lightning surging around him.

"Enfer...Château d'If."

 **X**

"So...if you're not the Master Lancer, then who is the leader here?"

"Why should I tell you? You are my enemy, and I will not give you any knowledge regardless of if you win or not. Just know that your other servants don't stand a chance against him."

"Ah, see? Right there. You just told me that it's a man. You're going back on your own word, Vlad the Impaler." His eyes twitched at the title.

"Or would you prefer Count-?"

"ENOUGH!" He roared, summoning his lance.

"I think I just found his trigger." He whispered over to Florence.

"Enough of this. Hayashi Tsukamoto. Are you going to fight me or not?"

"Does this answer your question?" He blasted waves of fire from both of his hands towards him. Lancer floated away, leaving a shadow behind.

'One of his Vampiric powers…' Continuing to float around quicker, he tried to stab him with his lance this time, but Hayashi was able to dodge it, retaliating with a blast of light this time. Vlad dodged it as well, then getting ready to plant his weapon into the ground.

"Come, savages who trample over my territory! It's time to discipline you! I'll turn my compassion and rage into red-hot stakes and skewer you all! And these stakes are not limited, but truly infinite, so despair...and gorge on your own blood! Kazikli Bey!" Dozens of blood red spikes began to shoot up from the floor, heading towards the both of them.

"Look out!" He rushed over to Florence and threw her towards the door and out of the way.

"M-Master!" she called out, seeing Hayashi get impaled by multiple spikes, his blood dripping onto all of them.

"As I thought. You are powerful, but you are still no match for a true servant. A Noble Phantasm like mine is more than enough to take you out."

"...Verg Avesta…." He whispered, and suddenly Vlad felt enormous pain shooting through his body, making the stakes disappear.

"What...is this?!" He stumbled backwards, and Hayashi's wounds quickly healed themselves, while he stood back up with his eyes once again having a red tint to them.

"Master...was that…?" Florence mumbled, looking at him in awe.

"Indeed it was. It seems that my control over this form is becoming better. This is one of the main reasons that Angra Mainyu wants my body back. Since we merged, I am able to use his Noble Phantasm, Verg Avesta. It is normally a worthless Anti-Unit ability that requires the user to be injured. Any damage I take is reflected onto you. In his case, since he is the weakest Heroic Spirit, he is not able to withstand wounds for that long, and compared to a different servant, the damage wouldn't be that severe. But with me, it's different. I can withstand wounds and maintain consciousness more successfully than he can. In addition, my wounds heal right away thanks to his darkness magic. So I can continue to be injured and reflect the pain on you while healing each time."

"That's ridiculous! You're still a human mage, there's no way you can use a Noble Phantasm!"

"I just did, didn't I?"

"Kazikli Bey!" A dark red and blue aura surrounded him, and this time, the stakes shot out from within his body, with tendril like spikes coming towards him. Hayashi braced himself and released a blast of red energy that protected him from the attack, then going towards the servant and punching him multiple times before delivering a kick that knocked him back onto the ground.

'I'm getting better...this power is great…!'

'This isn't working...it looks like I won't be able to defeat him, even with my strongest attacks…' As he slowly stood up, he felt his body grow cold and start to shake, being forced into something.

"What...no...Avenger, I will not…!"

" _I will not allow those who serve under me to hesitate. You fight until your dying breath, using everything you have!"_ His Master's voice rang out through his mind.

"No...I won't…!"

" _You don't have the power to resist me! Use Legend of Dracula!"_

"Damn it! I'm not...I don't want to be...a vampire…!" Transforming into a monster, his lance disappeared, and he slashed Hayashi across the front with his claws, making him fall to the floor.

He coughed up blood before his wounds healed again and he stood up.

"Let us see how you fight now, Hayashi Tsukamoto! After I kill you, I'm going to kill my master!" he roared.

"Verg Avesta!" Hayashi gathered energy into his hand and thrust it through his chest, causing pain to the vampire again, but both of their wounds healed this time.

'Regeneration…this isn't going to work anymore, then…' Flying over to him, Dracula impaled him using stakes from within his own body.

"Master!" Florence took her gun out and fired multiple shots at the vampire, who swiftly turned into a swarm of bats and flew after her.

"No!" She screamed. Hayashi sped in front of her and launched a red energy wave that made him retreat and reform.

"I won't let you touch her…" he muttered angrily.

"Master…"

"Are you alright…?"

"...Y-Yes. Do you need me to heal you?" Dracula came after them again.

"I need you to use your Noble Phantasm."

"Understood. Treatment start. Nightingale Pledge!" Her nurse manifestation appeared above her and swung its sword downwards. Vlad's form quickly reverted back to normal.

"What…? What happened?" He shook his head, looking forward again, just in time for Hayashi to finish him by shoving his hand through his chest. Pulling it out, he fell to the ground, beginning to disappear.

"What...did you do…?"

"Berserker's Noble Phantasm cancels out any Noble Phantasms, cures all wounds, and wipes away any sense of fighting instinct within both servants and people alike. It gave me just enough time to finish you off."

"I see...thank you...for knocking me out of that abhorrent state…" His body finally disappeared, and Hayashi fell forward onto his knees.

"Master!" Florence ran over to him to make sure he was okay. "Are you alright?"

"I'm...yeah, I'll be…ugh…" He held his head, exhausted. "I just have a headache."

"We should take care of that."

"There's no time. We have to help the others. You can treat me later." He stood up, Florence escorting him with her arm around his. In the back corner of the room, behind the throne, were small metal doors that led up into the tower. The two scaled the stairs, coming before another, larger set of metal doors. Pushing them open, the scene laid out before them made both of them gasp. All of the other servants had been defeated, and were heavily damaged. Sitting up above them was the same man from before, once again reading his book.

"Ah...you've arrived finally." He grinned maliciously, closing it again. Hayashi got to see the title before it disappeared.

'The Count of Monte Cristo?'

"Florence, start healing the others."

"Understood." She went over and began to deploy healing magic onto Jeanne.

"What happened?"

"That guy...is too strong...he's more of an Avenger than I am…" she coughed. He slowly walked down from where he was sitting and stood across from Hayashi.

"Now then...I take it you are Hayashi Tsukamoto?"

"Yes...and you are?"

"I'm the leader you've been seeking. The Master Avenger."

"I see. And you are the one that did this to all of them. You must be quite a fighter if you could take out all of them without a scratch."

"I didn't even break a sweat." He grinned. Hayashi gritted his teeth and punched towards him, but he caught it and whirled around, restraining his arm behind his back.

"A pseudo Avenger like you is no match for a real one like me. Even she couldn't match me." He nodded over to Alter.

"I'm different!" Delivering a backwards kick to make some distance, Hayashi used his Avenger powers and injured himself.

"Verg Avesta!" Edmond clutched his chest, falling over. Gasping, Hayashi's wounds healed, but he fell down onto the ground again.

"Attendre, Espérer." Hayashi's eyes widened as the next thing he felt was getting slammed across the room by him.

"You...what…?" he choked out.

"One of my Noble Phantasms. I can bring someone back from the verge of death with a boost in all of their abilities. Observe." He drew his fist back and hit him in the stomach harder than before, blood flying out of Hayashi's mouth. Gritting his teeth, Hayashi knocked him away and began fighting back, using both magic and hand to hand combat. But he was bested in both. He threw a punch, it was caught and was sent spinning onto the floor. If he kicked, it was blocked, and he was flipped over. Avenger began retaliating, electrocuting Hayashi with his palms, then delivering multiple slashes with dark claws that he used, cutting him. Kicking him away, then speeding over to him again, he created a purple flame claw and impaled Hayashi.

"MASTER!" Florence cried out, using Nightingale Pledge. However, it didn't work. Glancing back at her, he grinned.

"You can't negate anything I use. It's beyond that silly Noble Phantasm of yours." Dropping Hayashi, he walked over to the center of the room.

Taking off his medallion and holding it up, he smiled.

"Lightning, Darkness, Poison, Fire, Time Manipulation, and Spatial Warping. All of these abilities are given to me thanks to this treasure. The Treasure of Monte Cristo."

"So then...as I thought...you are Edmond Dantes, no?" Hayashi asked.

"No, I am not. I am the Count of Monte Cristo. Unlike Edmond, I was never given a happy ending. I never had salvation. And Haydee is not here for me…but it does not matter. I was summoned to this world to fight, and so that's what I'm going to do. Angra Mainyu wants me to beat you down so you'll be in top form when he takes you. So to finish you off...Enfer Château d'If!" Faster than anyone could see, he knocked Hayashi into the air and began moving around like a blur, a blue streak hitting him back and forth, draining his stamina, mana, and injuring him. At last, he fell to the ground, but Edmond appeared in multiple places at once, as afterimages. Gathering up black flames mixed with blue lightning, they all fired beams of energy at him at the same time, engulfing his body in a huge explosion. When the attack was finished, he landed skillfully on the floor.

"You'd better keep him alive. Because if you don't, then I'll be held responsible, and I can promise that I'll be dragging you down to hell with me." He looked at Nightingale, before speeding out through the castle, leaving them all.

"Master! Stay with me!" Florence called out, sobbing.

"I...Florence…" Everything went black.

 **X**

Waking up to dim light, Hayashi found himself back in the inn they were staying at. Adjusting his eyes to his new surroundings, he noticed Florence sitting by his bedside.

"Hey…"

"Master. You're awake."

"You brought us all back here? Where are the others? And what did you do about the receptionist?"

"In order, yes, they're all healed and sleeping in their rooms, and I brought you in through the back entrance, where no one saw us."

"I see. Thank you. Urghh…!"

"Master, I wouldn't advise moving yet. After a thorough examination, I've determined that you have a fever, migraine, and are exhausted of your stamina. I wish to see you well-rested and completely better before we leave for our next location. I will stay here to watch you as long as I need to." She looked at him intently, Hayashi's eyes lowering and looking back up at the ceiling.

"One other thing. Your symptoms are caused by your use of that Noble Phantasm. The more you injure yourself and regenerate, the more you are destroying your body. Please use it sparingly from now on...for me?"

"...Alright."

"Master, I recommend you get some sleep now. It will do you good."

"Yeah, that would be good for me. You're going to spend the night with me?"

"As I said, as long as I need to be. For the duration of our stay at this inn, at the very least."

"Thanks…" His eyes slowly opened and closed, and after about two minutes, she could tell that he had fallen asleep.

Gazing upon his slumbering state, Nightingale found herself staring at him before long. Hayashi was a handsome man with silvery green eyes and medium length brown hair, standing at 6'2", and physically fit. She couldn't help herself, and bent down, lightly kissing his forehead before going into the bathroom, about to take a shower.

 **X**

Hayashi's eyes slowly opened once he heard the water turn off. He was still drowsy though, since he had only gotten ten minutes or so. After a few minutes, she stepped out of the bathroom, a white towel wrapped around her naked body.

"Oh...Master...apologies...did I wake you? Perhaps I should have waited."

"No, no, it's fine." he yawned, turning over on his side, now facing her. "I imagine you couldn't wait much longer to take one anyway, after healing all of us. Do you feel better, at least?"

"Yes. Very much so. Master, would you mind turning away so that I may dress myself?"

"Oh, sure." After a few seconds, she walked back over and sat down by his bedside, now in a matching pink bra and pink panties, and a white nightgown over it that went down to her thighs.

"...Are you really just going to sit there the whole time?"

"Yes. I need to keep an eye on you."

"You need to get some rest, too. You can't keep tiring yourself out like this."

"...Is that an order?"

"Yes."

"Very well." She closed her eyes, standing up and walking over to the couch.

"That's not what I meant."

"Hm?" She turned back around. Hayashi lifted the covers, patting the space next to him.

"W-With you? I can't! You're ill, and I don't want to be contaminated as well!"

"I thought servants can't get sick?"

"We absolutely can!"

"Come on, it's more comfortable. And besides, it's only a fever and exhaustion. Nothing contagious."

"B-But Hayashi…"

"It would help me sleep better." he spoke softly, smiling at her.

"Oh...very well." She walked back over and got in next to him, snuggling up to his body.

"Is this alright?" she asked, now blushing.

"Yeah. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." she smiled, feeling his arm wrap around her.

 **X**

Awaking again the next morning, Hayashi groaned, his head throbbing again.

"What's wrong?" The soft voice next to him spoke, already sitting up. He could have sworn she was asleep like two seconds ago…

"My head again…" She leaned forward, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. Her breasts now hung in front of him, and he tried to turn away so that she wouldn't think he was staring.

"You still seem to have a slight fever, although it is better than it was yesterday. Did you wake up at all during the night?"

"No. I slept soundly."

"That's good to hear. Here. For your headache." She gave him a few pills from their dresser, and he laid back down.

"Hey...can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Your life...what did you do?"

"I thought you knew who I was, Master?"

"Of course, but I mean from your perspective. Your day to day life. What was it like?"

"Hmm...well...upon returning to London from the war, I was hounded by many people for stories about my exploits, for photographs, and sometimes suitors as well. I turned down many of them, though. I only saved people, and it was my job to do so. I was no hero. The Nightingale Fund was started in my name to improve the medical field in terms of the work environments and the tools and information available to nurses. The fund was mostly to establish a school for them to learn and become better for it. Many citizens donated, and in the end, I had 45 thousand pounds at my disposal, which I used to set up the Nightingale Training School at St. Thomas Hospital. I taught nurses there personally. I wrote a book about my profession a year before that, which became the textbook for the school. And from then on, I simply assisted in the day to day affairs of the hospital. In my later years, I became bedridden, due to brucellosis, and lost my sight in my last decade. Then one night I went to sleep, and that was it. The next thing I knew, I existed in the Throne of Heroes." When she got no response, she looked over at Hayashi, who was typing on his phone.

"Master, did you listen to what I said at all?"

"Of course I did. I want you to hear something." He pulled up her wikipedia article and leaned against her, showing her his phone.

"'Nightingale's lasting contribution has been her role in founding the modern nursing profession. She set an example of compassion, commitment to patient care and diligent and thoughtful administration. In 1912, the International Committee of the Red Cross instituted the Florence Nightingale Medal, which is awarded every two years to nurses or nursing aides for outstanding service. It is the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve and is awarded to nurses or nursing aides for "exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick or disabled or to civilian victims of a conflict or disaster" or "exemplary services or a creative and pioneering spirit in the areas of public health or nursing education." Since 1965, International Nurses Day has been celebrated on her birthday, the 12th of May each year. The President of India honors nursing professionals with the "National Florence Nightingale Award" every year on International Nurses Day. The award, established in 1973, is given in recognition of meritorious services of nursing professionals characterised by devotion, sincerity, dedication and compassion.' Every nurse recites the Nightingale Pledge at their pinning ceremony at the end of training. Four hospitals in Istanbul are named after you. There's monuments of you in London, a stained glass window with you in it, plays, films, and documentaries that were based upon you life and actions, biographies published, and your face was printed on 10 pound banknotes for almost two decades, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Michael Faraday, and the Duke of Wellington. You were also listed as one of the greatest Britons to ever live, both in the UK, and Japan. So perhaps you didn't consider yourself a hero or an angel, but to everyone else, you were practically a goddess. You're still considered an international hero today."

"...I don't know what to say…."

"You don't have to say anything. Just know that you made a lot of contributions to society."

"I guess that's what happens when you work day and night…"

"You didn't get much time off, did you?"

"Not at all. And I did not need to. There's always someone else that needs my aid."

"...I'm going to give you a vacation."

"What do you mean?"

"For the next few days, until we get another alert from Lorelei, I'm going to show you everything you missed out on. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Master. But I insist we wait until you're all better."

"Alright."

 **X**

Returning to London along with the others, Hayashi brought Florence and the others to an opera house, seeing Mozart's Magic Flute. He brought her to her museum, and to King's College to see how her school has flourished. He took her out to lunch, and showed her around the docks. He brought her to a carnival, and to other museums to see what kind of exhibits they had. Then they went to a park, and finally went out to a restaurant and bar. At the end of the night, they returned to Hayashi's house, opening the front door.

"Master...do you think you could help me up the stairs? I'm a bit dizzy…" she slurred slightly. Hayashi sighed and picked her up, carrying her bridal style, making her squeal.

"M-Master, what are you doing?!" she gasped.

"You said you wanted me to help you up the stairs, so that's what I'm doing." He carried her up and set her down on his bed. Still blushing slightly, she watched Hayashi close and lock the door, beginning to get changed for bed.

"You're not going to wear that to sleep, are you?"

"N-No...you want me to sleep in here with you? Again?"

"What do you mean again? I slept in here with Nero last time we were in London."

"I meant from the other night in Romania."

"Oh. Yeah, I want to. I wanted to get to know the real you, and I think I have, except for one last thing."

"And what's that?"

"Well, get changed, and I'll tell you."

"You wish to bed me, Master?" she asked, now smirking a bit.

"Will it happen?"

"Hm...after everything we've been through and everything you did for me today...it's a possibility. But it depends on your question and my answer."

"I can live with that. Tell me why you don't like women as much as men."

"Hm? What an odd question."

"Well, despite your advances for women, you always believed that they weren't as capable as men. Why was that?" She sighed and sat up, moving to the edge of the bed, unbuttoning her blouse and removing her leggings. Underneath, she wore a lace trimmed bra and matching white lace panties.

"Women's brains work different than men's. They are more manipulative, in a sense. They crave sympathy, and attention much of the time. Every woman, no matter how strong or empowering they are, have another side to their personality as well. The Empress is childish, the warrior is quiet, the maiden is shy, the warlord is lazy, and the doll is emotionless. I look at every woman as a double edged sword, especially heroic spirits. They are strong, but they have their flaws."

"You're not so different yourself, you know. You have a heart of steel on the outside, but you can be rather cute and romantic sometimes. You truly care for people, and want to end all illness in the world. You're a Berserker class, yet you rely on others because you're a healer before a fighter. You're very similar to them."

"..."

"But still, you're one of the strongest and greatest friends I've ever had." He smiled at her, going and sitting down on the bed.

"...Very well, Master. You've earned it."

"Earned what?"

"This." She climbed into his lap and began to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Tumbling backwards, she broke away and smiled at him.

"While I served in the Crimean War, some of the patients, even after being healed, seemed to long for me, not for my skills, but for my body. So for you, I imagine that even though your wounds are all healed, it would better you even more if I satisfied you with my body."

"You're right. That would help." he pulled her back down, making out with her again, and undoing her hair braids so that it was long again.

Going for his underwear, she pulled it down, leaving him naked. He returned the favor by unclipping her bra, her huge breasts being freed and making Hayashi lower his head so that his eyes weren't blocked by them.

"Apologies Master...I should have warned you that they would be quite large…"

"No wonder why you opted out of getting fitted for a dress back in Rome." He sat her down, beginning to fondle them. His hands weren't able to fully grope them, due to their enormous size.

"Unghh...Master…" she moaned. He pushed her back so that he was on top, and put his member between her two mounds, thrusting. Her boobs wobbled and jiggled with each one, at one point making her have to hold her hand atop them so that they wouldn't jump up and smack her in the face. Reaching down, he pulled off her panties, leaving her completely nude. Pushing apart from each other, Nightingale got onto her hands and knees and faced away from him, allowing Hayashi to enter her through the back. Nightingale was the oldest in appearance among the servants Hayashi had, and as such, had the most mature body among them. Even though her ass wasn't as big as Altera's, she was still beyond gorgeous, and Hayashi almost couldn't believe that now, besides the legendary emperor Nero, he was having sex with Florence Nightingale.

Deciding to get a bit more rough with her, he smacked her butt once, making her cry out in ecstasy while he continued to fuck her.

"Ahh...Hayashi~~ don't stop~!" she bit her lip.

"You're pretty horny for someone who was supposed to be chaste during their lifetime." he teased.

"I wasn't chaste, I just didn't have the time to look for someone." she muttered.

"Bullshit. There must have been plenty of suitors after your heart."

"I turned all of them down."

"And yet here you are, begging for me to ravage you." he grinned when he saw her face turn red.

"What did you do when someone catcalled you during the war or after?"

"I simply ignored it most often. Or if they got too close, I'd threaten to amputate one of their appendages if they didn't leave me alone."

"Yikes. I'm glad you're into me."

"That is only because of your efforts." she laughed softly. The two of them continued before she turned around and he went into her front entrance this time. Once again, she had to hold her breasts to stop them from moving around too much sometimes.

"Aahhh! Keep going! Fuck!" Increasing speed and adding to the action by fondling her breasts again and playing with her nipples, it didn't take long for Nightingale to cum. Hayashi followed soon afterwards, lying back on the bed. Crawling over to him, she began to stroke his member, while he rubbed her back and ass.

"What did you mean before? That it's because of my efforts."

"Well...when we first fought here, you didn't treat me like an enemy. You were going to let me live. And so when Ruler unfairly injured you, I wanted nothing more than to heal you. But nothing worked. Before long, your injuries healed themselves, and I brought you back here, with help from the other three. At first I wanted to see why I could not heal you. But before long, I felt myself becoming close with you, and then attracted to you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." She finished by sucking him off, and swallowing everything he two remained where they were for a moment before going into the bathroom and cleaning themselves off. She then helped him change the bedding before lying down next to him again, this time under the covers. Hayashi flicked his fingers towards the light switch, sending a small burst of air at it that flipped it downwards, leaving them in the dark.

"You know, Master...I am not the only one that feels this way." she whispered, snuggling up to him.

"Hm?"

"You've already slept with the Empress, haven't you?"

"Yeah. You knew?"

"I found out when I healed you back in Monte Carlo. She dreamt about it." she laughed.

"But it hadn't happened yet at that point." Hayashi shared a chuckle with her. "That girl is such a handful."

"The others are the same way as well though. Both the warrior and the maiden bat their eyelashes at you frequently. Haven't you ever noticed their advances?"

"Well Jeanne's easy to read, since she could become embarrassed at almost anything. But Altera too? Really?"

"Yes. I don't think Archer and Assassin really care, but I have known about those two for quite some time now. What is it that makes you such a lady killer, as they say nowadays?"

"I don't really do anything special. I just care for them and try to help them out. I just be myself. Although...truth be told...despite our sex just now being amazing, it seems to only last for a fleeting moment before I turn back to my old self. I enjoy it, but nothing can change what I did before. And the first time I had relations...was with my girlfriend, who I killed...and it wasn't even really me when we did it."

"I see...I would have thought you would have completely refused it in that case."

"No, because it makes me feel good. Don't get me wrong, I don't crave having sex all the time, but I feel happy for a bit knowing that I found another woman that I went that far with. But in the end, once all of this is over, you guys are going to leave me too."

"That's a long way off, Hayashi."

"It'll come sooner than you think."

"All the more reason to enjoy yourself now." She kissed him before they fell asleep in each other's arms.

 **X**

"Kiritsugu, it's time for you to head out." Angra ordered, walking into the room full of servants back in the tomb.

"Understood. Everyone, let's go."

"Yes." Emiya and Irisviel walked towards the exit, followed by the seven other servants that were part of their group. At that moment, Ozymandias walked in.

"My king." Nitocris and Cleopatra bowed to him.

"Rise, you two." They did as they were ordered. "It's time for us to acquire a new base of operations. Solomon is making progress on our project, and in order to keep his workshop a secret from Hayashi and the others, we should keep his attention away from here and on us."

"And where will we be going?" Karna asked.

"Well, the capital of course. The Presidential residence. After all, that is where the man in charge of modern Egypt stays. So prepare yourselves to move. We're heading to the Heliopolis Palace in Cairo."

 **End.**


	6. Part 2: Xi'an

**Songs**

 **Return of the Sun King: Main Theme (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

 **Yan Qing and Irisviel: Inner Peace (Kung Fu Panda 2 OST)**

 **Arrival in Xi'an: Hero (Kung Fu Panda OST)**

 **Vs. Lu Bu and Jing Ke: Musician's Village (Kung Fu Panda 2 OST)**

 **Ancient China Reality Marble: Sacred Pool of Tears (Kung Fu Panda OST)**

 **Nero vs. Wu: Kai is Closer (Kung Fu Panda 3 OST)**

 **Altera vs. Nezha: The Bridge (Kung Fu Panda OST)**

 **Xuanzang: The Legend of Kai (Kung Fu Panda 3 OST)**

 **Kato and Oda vs. Xuanzang: The Arrival of Kai (Kung Fu Panda 3 OST)**

 **Vs. Xuanzang Final Showdown: The Battle of Legends (Kung Fu Panda 3 OST)**

 **Shanghai: Hungry for Lunch (Kung Fu Panda 3 OST)**

 **Jeanne vs. Li Shuwen Chase: Rickshaw Chase (Kung Fu Panda 2 OST)**

 **Jeanne Alter vs. Li Shuwen: The Hall of Heroes [Beginning at around 45 seconds in] (Kung Fu Panda 3 OST)**

 **Yan Qing Interception: To Be King (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Everyone vs. Yan Qing: Zen Ball Master (Kung Fu Panda 2 OST)**

 **Yan Qing's Death: Oogway Ascends (Kung Fu Panda OST)**

 **Hayashi vs. Kiritsugu:** **少女進化！ エミヤ アレンジ プリズマコーズ ファースト・レディ戦** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Hayashi Revives:** **彼女との邂逅 プリズマコーズ** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)** **Hayashi vs. Kiritsugu Finale:** **少女は立ち止まらない プリズマコーズ** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Kiritsugu and Iri Defeated: Silver Moon (Fate/Zero OST)**

Standing near the Heliopolis Palace, Ozymandias had the rest of the servants behind him, consisting of the Round Table group, the Irish group, the Japanese group, and his own group of ancient world servants.

"Sir, there's what looks like a group of protesters gathered outside the palace."

"Have they made a move yet?"

"No. They're just outside the gate. They're strangely dressed in odd clothes."

"Like what?"

"...Armor."

"...Have the guards push them away. If it doesn't work, you have my permission to remove them by force."

"Understood." The President's assistant called the guards outside and gave them their orders.

"Excuse me, sir! We're going to have to ask you to leave!" The guards outside began to walk towards the pharaoh.

"Fools. Bow before me." He released a small portion of his magic aura, and his powerful gaze alone made them drop to their knees, before falling unconscious. Continuing onwards, they stood at the front entryway.

"Sir, they were taken out."

"..."

"Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak! Come out now and meet us!"

"Let's go out and see what he wants." The President, along with his secretary and some of the other military personnel went outside, standing opposite of the servant groups.

"Yes? I am Hosni Mubarak. You wanted an audience with me?"

"I did. I'm going to make you a proposition. I would like control of your palace." He nodded to the structure behind them.

"And in return?"

"In return, you receive my protection from the upcoming war that we'll be partaking in."

"War? With whom?"

"A group of people who don't enjoy my presence." He grinned.

"...And so I ask...who are you?"

"Ah. The most important question. I am one of your former kings, Ramesses the Great. Leading this nation is my birthright." His answer threw them off for a minute.

"You're the Great Ancestor?" he chuckled. "Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that a 3200 year old king is walking this earth again?"

"Yes, I do expect you to believe it."

"...Take them out." He waved his hand, and the guards that stood nearby trained their guns on them, firing multiple rounds.

"You leave me no choice." Tensing his muscles, he summoned a massive sphinx made out of cosmic energy, as the bullets bounced off of his aura, and some were absorbed by the sphinx. Becoming terrified, the men quickly lowered their weapons. The president's face trembled at the sight of his ruler, eyes glowing golden.

"Allow me to enlighten you, Hosni Mubarak. When I died all those millenia ago, I became what's called a Heroic Spirit. I exist inside of the Holy Grail, a wish granting device. Have you heard of it?"

"Yes, of course. There were several crusades for the Catholic Church to obtain it a thousand years ago…"

"Well, it's real. And so is my power and my authority. I am able to be summoned to this world, in spirit of course, but with powers beyond your comprehension. I assure you, I am the one and only Ramesses II, King of Kings and child of Ra." He grinned.

"The man with eyes like the sun...My King." He and the others immediately bowed before him.

"So you've realized your place. Good. Now then...the palace? It is not my only choice, but it is the most convenient at the moment."

"Of course. Anything you need, your majesty. Do you require guards as well?"

"No. As you can see, I have that covered." He presented the rest of the servants. "Now then, we'll be on our way. Thank you for the residency." He nodded, all of them moving into the complex. The President, as well as his men, all went to their homes in the city, now leaving the leadership of the country to one of the greatest kings to ever live.

 **X**

It was a morning like any other. Nightingale cooked breakfast for everyone, and they all watched some TV afterwards.

"Master, do we really have to leave again? It's nice to be back home." Jeanne said, now back to normal. Since Alter was awake all day yesterday, she was now the one sleeping, and Ruler Jeanne was back in control, at least for the time being.

"Yeah, it's what I'm here for. Unfortunately, we can't stay here all the time." He looked over at her.

"I've been meaning to ask you, what does it feel like when Alter's in control?"

"Mm? In what context?"

"Well, when you're both awake, but she's in charge, what do you feel?"

"I'm...in a dark and closed space. I guess it's supposed to be my subconscious. It's kind of like watching a television. I'm looking outside to see what she's doing and what's taking place."

"It's just like when I was possessed, only you're not trapped in a swamp of tar."

"Master…" Their conversation was interrupted by Hayashi's text alert, seeing the next location given from Lorelei.

"Xi'an. I guess we're going to China."

"Tch." Nobu spat.

"I know, I know, but keep an open mind. It's not like it used to be."

"You don't like China?" Altera asked.

"China and Japan weren't always on the best of terms with each other." Hayashi explained.

"Wasn't your whole life devoted to stopping the civil war in your own country?" Nightingale asked.

"Yeah. So what of it?"

"Well, what did China have to do with anything?"

"Nothing! But we've butted heads many times in the past!"

"Well, for the past five decades, they've been getting much better in their foreign relations than in ancient times."

"...Very well. Should we begin packing?"

 **X**

"What are you doing out here? Everyone else is in the city."

Yan Qing's eye twitched, sighing, and getting up from his position on the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I interrupt your meditation?" Irisviel asked.

"It's alright. You have nothing to be sorry for, my lady."

"'My lady?' Oh my…" she giggled, blushing a bit.

"I work for you and Lord Kiritsugu. If you are his wife, then I must address you as Lady Irisviel." he bowed.

"Well, thank you. It's very sweet of you. This place is so beautiful." She turned, looking out into a quiet meditation garden, filled with different colored flowers, and a small flowing stream.

"It's peaceful. I can focus on myself when I'm here."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Through all of history, it is said that only one man, Gautama Buddha, achieved true enlightenment through various forms of spiritual meditation. As one of the 108 Stars of Destiny, and ranking as the 36th Heavenly Spirit of my group, I had to have some amount of inner strength. But I strive to match the same level of strength that he did. That's why I spend much of my time meditating."

"I see."

"In actuality though, since we're from different countries, my beliefs and the way I was taught are different from his. So I'm trying to achieve it in my own way."

"I think it's very admirable. Listen...thank you for helping Kiritsugu and I so much. It's strange for us to be alive again like this. And we're not very fond of Angra Mainyu, to be honest."

"I understand. To tell you the truth, I don't really care for him either."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm a wanderer, I like to do things my own way. So when I'm told to go fight somebody, and he probably doesn't expect us to survive, I'm not really keen on listening. The only people I'm loyal to are you and Kiritsugu." he smiled at her.

"Thank you, Yan Qing. Hey, if we...go back to the Throne together, come find us. It will be nice to be able to spend time together."

"Of course, My Lady. I'd like nothing more."

 **X**

" **Attention Passengers. We are now entering Xi'an, in the Shaanxi Province of China. We will land in five minutes. Please gather any belongings and make sure to bring them all with you. Thank you."**

The intercom woke Hayashi up, yawning and looking to his left and right, where both Nero and Nightingale had fallen asleep on his shoulders.

"Wake up, you two. We're going to be landing." Both of their eyes fluttered open, smiling up at him. Nightingale, being the more proper of the two, kept her mouth closed while yawning, trying to keep her dignified appearance. Nero, on the other hand, opened her mouth wide and did so loudly, stretching her arms high enough so that her left hand accidentally smacked Hayashi in the face.

"Ow!"

"Oh! Sorry Master…" she giggled sheepishly, leaning up and kissing where she hit him.

"It's alright." He looked across the aisle to where the others were sitting. Altera had the window seat, and continued to look out onto the city, the place she once dreamed of adding to her conquests. Nobu sat next to her and looked over her shoulder, also examining the oldest capital in the country. Katou sat in the aisle seat, and didn't really seem to mind the wait until they landed to see what the city had to offer. Instead, she smiled at the touching sight of her Master and the two beautiful women on his arms. Jeanne, who sat in the back seat, alone, blushed, watching the three with envy, wanting to be as close to him as well.

Hayashi smiled at her, making her look away, embarrassed.

"Well, I guess we should start getting ready." They sat up, watching the plane land in the airport. Gathering their luggage and navigating their way to the exit, they walked outside into the big city, full of both modern skyscrapers and lights, yet also of traditional and old fashioned chinese structures, fountains, and sublime arrangements of nature. Beginning to make their way to their hotel, Hayashi looked around.

"Jeanne, can you sense any of the servants yet?"

"Mmm...yes. They're just outside of the city, in a large series of fields away from civilization. There's...nine of them in total."

"Alright. We'll set out as soon as we drop our things off."

 **X**

"Ah. They've landed. They'll be arriving shortly." Kiritsugu muttered. Hearing a roar from below them, he looked over the edge of the boulder he and Irisviel were sitting atop of.

"Yes. Why don't you be the one to greet our guests, Berserker?" Another roar.

 **X**

"Did you hear something?" Jeanne asked, looking around from the echo of the loud noise.

"It was probably your stomach. Don't servants eat a lot?" Hayashi said boredly.

"N-No, it was not!" she stammered, turning her head the other way. "And no, we don't. Some of us just prefer to eat a lot of food."

"Are we getting food?" Nobu asked.

"No, not right now. See, look what you did."

"That was you!" Jeanne yelled.

"Will you both shut up? I'm trying to assess the best way to destroy this city." Altera stopped them.

"You're not going to destroy this place!" They both yelled at her comically.

"Is it always this noisy up on the Throne?" Hayashi sighed.

"It can be. Some of the servants are stubborn, some are childish, and some just like to start fights…" Jeanne looked off to the side, thinking of Iskandar and Beowulf.

"Hmm…"

"Master, is something on your mind?" she asked curiously, as Hayashi seemed to be deep in thought.

"No, no, it's nothing. Just thinking about something else." he shook it off. "We're getting close, right?"

"Yes, it's just a few more minutes…" Jeanne spoke before hearing another loud roar, all of them stopping in their tracks.

"That one wasn't you…" Hayashi muttered.

"It wasn't me the first two times!" she yelled at him. From behind a boulder came a massive man covered from head to toe in armor. He had to be at least seven feet tall and weigh 300 pounds. Dressed in blue armor in an ancient chinese fashion and armed with a large spear, he took one step forward and shouted with such force that it created a shockwave that blew them back a bit.

"You see that, Jeanne? You could learn a thing or two about burping from him." he glanced at her, bringing up their first conversation.

"Master, now is not the time!" she screamed at him, running up to the man and clashing weapons.

"Ggh…he's overpowering me with his size…!" She felt herself getting pushed back by his strength.

'They're distracted...it's time.'

"Master, watch out!" Kato stepped in front of Hayashi and knocked away a poisoned dagger and an Assassin, who made some distance between them.

"Berserker, leave the girl and come here." She ordered. He growled and knocked Jeanne aside, stomping over next to her.

The new servant, the woman, had a petite figure, only being about 5'2", and wearing a fancy white silk robe, with a blue belt and sash around her stomach. She had long black hair tied into a long ponytail, a white flower in her hair, and shiny silver earrings. She wore simple sandals on her feet, and had a white waistcloth under her robe. A transparent silk scarf was wrapped around her.

"So you're our welcoming party? You're chinese servants, right? We are in China, after all." Hayashi crossed his arms.

"Yes. I'm obviously an Assassin class servant, and my true name is Jing Ke. This guy here is Lu Bu. He can't introduce himself, his madness enhancement doesn't let him form understandable words." He roared again, and Hayashi smirked at Jeanne.

"Master, enough!" She ran up to him and started pounding her fists on him, pouting.

"Tell me if I get this right. You're Hayashi Tsukamoto, obviously. You would be...Jeanne d'Arc?" She asked, pointing at the blonde girl.

"Yes."

"So then you're Attila, you're Nero, and you're Florence Nightingale. And you two are...Oda Nobunaga and Kato Danzo?" She asked.

"Yes, that's all correct." Hayashi nodded.

"I see. It seems that of all of you, only two of you might stand a chance against him. The rest of you are as good as gone. Lu Bu." She smirked and snapped her fingers, and he stepped forward, growling again.

His body became consumed in a pillar of electricity, transforming his appearance and his magic energy.

"God Force, eh?" Jing Ke asked herself.

He now stood in a heavier, golden, purple, and red armor, with an orange cape over his shoulders, and his hair now white, and a stream of red electricity sparking off of it. Twirling his lance and readying for a thrust, he charged towards the group, his body surrounded by energy.

Jeanne jumped in front of them and used Luminosite Eternelle, blocking it, but still getting pushed back a bit.

"His sheer size is what makes him so strong!" She gasped. Hayashi activated his Avenger powers and ran up to the Berserker, punching him as hard as he could, but still not fazing him whatsoever. He grunted and planted his weapon into the ground, then picking Hayashi up and slamming him over his knee, making blood flying out of his mouth.

"Master!" Altera ran over and kicked the warrior back, carrying Hayashi back to the others.

"Heal him! I'll deal with Lu Bu!" Florence ran over and began to use Nursing of Steel to mend Hayashi's injuries. Altera ran off and began to clash with Lu Bu, who had picked his weapon back up, and once again had the advantage over her, due to the size of his body as well as a larger weapon.

"Not good enough…" Hayashi and Florence heard a whisper. "From this moment, I will fear not my own death, nor pray for my own life, but this soul is Only For Killing." Jumping down from atop the nearby boulder from before, Jing Ke pulled her dagger out and plunged towards Florence. Hayashi forced himself up and pushed her aside, taking the attack himself, the weapon stabbing his chest and poisoning him.

"Ghurgk….." His eyes widened before the color faded from them, and she went pale.

"HAYASHI!" Florence kicked the assassin away and used Nightingale Pledge, trying to heal him.

"What did you do?!" She glared at the woman.

"Only For Killing is my Noble Phantasm, a recreation of my attempted assassination of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. The dagger is drenched in a powerful poison, and can kill even a servant with just a scratch." she gritted her teeth.

"Jing Ke." She froze and turned around, getting shot in the head as soon as she did, her body disappearing, startling the others.

"But...Master…" she choked out before fading away completely. Standing atop the boulder was another man, wearing gray combat pants with knives strapped to his legs, a maroon waistcoat, black combat armor with a gray chest plate over it, a faded gray shoulder guard over his left shoulder, and a long red cloth that was a side cape over his right shoulder, that wrapped around his head as a hood, plus a gray face mask to hide who he was.

"Our orders were to capture him alive. I will listen to Angra Mainyu as long as I need to until I know for sure that Iri and I are safe from him and the King of Kings."

"Kiritsugu...Emiya…" Hayashi coughed out, Nightingale's magic working in time to save his life. Slowly pulling his hood down and taking off his mask, he was in fact the aforementioned, with spiky white hair and bored, lifeless eyes.

"Hayashi Tsukamoto. You know of me?" he asked, reaching behind him and placing his SMG back in the holster against his waist.

"Yeah...I remember reading the files about everything that transpired during the fourth war years ago. Plus Shirou is one of our members."

"Hm. So it makes sense that you would know a bit about me." He closed his eyes, remaining still for a moment.

"Lu Bu. Capture him and kill the rest. You have my permission to go all out." He ordered, the Berserker grunting in approval.

"Should you survive, the rest of us are not far from here. I'll be waiting." He disappeared in an instant, leaving the others with the monster of a Berserker.

Twirling his spear around again, he summoned a bow into his other hand, and placed the spear against it, as if it were an arrow. Lighting up with red energy, multiple arrows spawned from the single one he just prepared just a moment ago, then jumping away and firing them all at the party.

"Hmph. Arrows? Not that many. It's no wonder you're not an Archer." Nobu smirked, unsheathing her blade and sticking it into the ground.

"Three Thousand Worlds!" Summoning her army of rifles, she shot the arrows out of the sky and bombarded Lu Bu, sending him falling to the ground, but landing on his feet, still able to move.

"If this doesn't kill you, I'm going to be furious. Teardrop Photon Ray." Altera pointed the end of her sword into the sky, then at Lu Bu, and her strongest attack consumed him, obliterating his body.

"That's the end of him." All of them released a breath that they didn't know they were holding.

"Master...these Chinese servants...they might end up being quite a handful…" Jeanne panted.

"Yeah…but we have to do this." He stood up slowly. The rest of his wounds healed thanks to his own abilities, and they continued onwards. As they began to walk through the open plains, something began to feel off.

"There's no wind...there's nothing here. Something's not right." Hayashi stopped, looking around.

"What do you mean, Master?" Kato asked.

"Well, first of all, even though we're not far from the city, I can't see it anymore. Plus, there's no wind blowing from there at all. There's just...nothing here. A reality marble?" Walking a little further, space warped as they entered a new area, an ancient chinese city filled with tall temples and other buildings, street markets, rivers and boats, and people doing all kinds of work and interacting with each other.

"Wow...is this…?" Jeanne gasped in wonder.

"Yeah. Ancient China. This city used to be known as Chang'an, the oldest of the four ancient capitals of China." Hayashi answered, all of them looking up.

"So...where would the rest of them be?" Kato asked.

"If I had to guess, it would be the Imperial palace." Beginning to walk through the city, they followed the main roads to the most majestic structure in the city.

"Ah. There you are. If you'd all follow me, please." Standing outside with his hands behind his back was a man of average height, with red hair tied back, wearing black pants with a silver belt, an open collared red shirt with dragons on it, and a large white fur coat over it. Turning and walking forward, they followed him into the palace.

'He has no openings at all...he's no ordinary guard, he's a servant…' Kato thought to herself.

Opening a set of doors, they were now in a throne room, where other servants were present. Sitting atop the throne was a short girl, with long lavender hair, wearing a purple blue and yellow imperial robe that was open in the front, her breasts barely covered by the robe, and her genitals covered with a loincloth. Atop her head was a golden crown with small bells hanging from it, and wrapped around her robe was a gold sash. Despite her size, her purple eyes were very proud and spoke superiority. Across her lap was a whip that matched her color scheme.

Kiritsugu and Irisviel sat together on a large pillow off to the side in the room. Standing on the sides of the stairs leading up to the throne were two women, one of them wielding a lance, and the other with a shakujo. Standing beside the throne where the empress was was a good looking man with long black hair tied into a ponytail.

To the right of the stairs was a young girl with long brown hair that was fiery red and yellow at the ends, tied into a long side ponytail. She had brown eyes, and wore a short brown dress with an orange leaf pattern on it, which was open on her chest to display the tops of her breasts, as well as on her stomach to expose her navel. It only went down to the tops of her thighs and was open on the side, even showing off a fair amount of her large behind if you looked from a certain angle. To make up for the loss in length, she wore thigh high black boots with a fire swirl pattern along the tops of them in orange. On her wrists were gold bands that had a special kind of light that emanated from them. Magic, perhaps? As mentioned before, she held a simple looking lance, brown in color, and not wrapped in any fancy cloth either.

The second one, to the left of the stairs, was a bit older and had a voluptuous body. She had long brown hair that she put into two loops towards the ends. She wore sandals and purple long socks, a white dress of some sort that left her lower front open, where she wore a purple thong. Her chest was also not covered by it, the only thing keeping her large breasts in place being a purple bra. Strapped around her and resting against her right hip was a peculiar piece of armor that didn't really look like it was meant to protect the user from anything. Hanging from her shoulders was a yellow cloak, and she wore an old priest or shaman's hat atop her head, with red, yellow, and blue ribbons sewn into it and hanging down. Her pink eyes had a much more relaxed atmosphere to them than the previous two, and she carried a khakkhara staff in her left hand.

The final one, the man standing next to the Empress, looked to be the strongest of them all, since he was so relaxed, but kept a fixed gaze on Hayashi's party, as if he could become serious at any moment. He had long black hair that he tied in a ponytail, and striking yellow green eyes fitting for an assassin. He wore gray footwraps, baggy black pants, and an armor piece around his waist, colored in gold, red, and blue. Hanging from the armor was a white waistcoat, and on his hands were blue gauntlets, with long raggedy red cloths flowing from them. He wore no shirt, and had large tattoos on his body, one side covered with roses and thorns, and the other, his right arm, with a dragon. He wore a plain red necklace as well.

"So, you all are…?" Hayashi asked.

"Lancer, Nezha." The younger fiery-haired girl responded.

"Caster, Xuanzang Sanzang! Also known as Genjou Sanzou!" The shakujo girl piped up.

"Lancer, Li Shuwen." The Lancer from before that led them in introduced himself as well.

"Assassin, Wu Zetian. The sole female Empress in Chinese history." The young girl said proudly.

"Assassin." The final one grinned.

"Do you recognize any of the names?" Hayashi asked Nobu and Kato.

"Yes. Many of them, save for the Lancer over there. He must have been after our time." She nodded over to Li.

"Master, these are all formidable opponents. Especially that Assassin up there. Do not let your guard down." Kato advised.

"Yes. Who's going to fight who?" Hayashi looked over at Kiritsugu and Irisviel.

"I will only fight if the rest of them have been defeated." Kiritsugu said, Irisviel casting a barrier around them.

"If we're not fighting those two yet, then we outnumber them seven to five.

"This time, I'm going to sit out. I need to ask him some things." He nodded over to Emiya. Yan Qing jumped down and sat in front of the barrier, guarding them.

"You're not allowed to fight me until you've beaten the rest. And I won't let you touch my lord or lady while I'm here."

"The Empress is mine." Nero stepped forward.

"Master, I'll remain by your side again." Nightingale stood close to him.

"Which of you is the more powerful Lancer?" Altera asked. Nezha stepped forward.

"Then you're mine." She summoned her sword.

"Then I shall be your opponent." Jeanne looked at Li.

"You two take the monk then." Hayashi ordered Kato and Oda, who looked over to Xuanzang.

"Do you all have your reality marbles?" Kiritsugu asked. They all nodded and crushed them, transporting themselves and their opponents away.

"But this is a Reality Marble." Hayashi looked over.

"This is a special kind of Reality Marble, where other individual ones can be activated within it."

"Hm. Now then...some questions."

 **X**

Wu's Reality Marble brought them to a dark room, what looked like an ancient torture chamber.

"Welcome to your demise." she smirked, as Nero looked around. Snapping her fingers, torturers wearing iron masks were conjured and stood beside her.

Walking over to the tool racks, they picked up a massive horizontal saw and began walking to her. Nero, sweating, began to back up.

"What's wrong, Empress of Rome? Nervous? As I understand, your uncle used to watch people get sawed apart for breakfast."

"I am not my uncle." She shook her head, readying her sword. Dashing towards them, she cut the two torturers in half, making the saw drop to the floor. Wu dodged when she slashed, and whipped her on her leg, making Nero cry out in pain.

"Hehe…" she licked her lips as Nero stumbled backwards.

"What is it with you people and getting off by physical violence?! First Carmilla, and now you…"

"I can't change who I was in life. And you're such a ripe fruit for peeling…" she giggled.

Gritting her teeth, Nero ignited her sword in flames.

"Tell me, Empress. What did the people think of you?" she asked Wu.

"The people respected me through the fear that I instilled. Not unlike you, only they still respected me." she smirked.

"How dare you…!" She rushed towards her and slashed, spreading flame throughout the room, but Wu once again avoided it and lashed Nero on her stomach and back. A small purple flame appeared in her hand before conjuring more torturers, this time with swords. Running up to her, she slashed again, her larger blade overpowering and cutting through their rapiers and them. Wu used the purple fire again, this time to conjure purple spikes that honed in on her and stabbed her, making her fall over.

"You thought you were a good ruler? You ruled the people through fear without really even knowing what you were doing. My mind was intact, which is what made me successful."

"You were a tyrant!"

"When people think of tyrants, they think of you before me. Let's finish this." She hovered above the ground as it became a giant jar full of a purple substance. Nero fell into it, and began to cough, feeling intense pain coursing through her veins.

"It's time for punishment! What you should hate is not you. It is the sins within you. Our law is the one to draw out all of those sins with the scale of pain and anguish! Savor it thoroughly. You will not simply rejoice...know that your luck is truly high! For you shall gaze upon our affair more closely than anyone else! Torture, torture, and even more torture! Nyufufufufu~!"

Nero felt her legs lose their power, starting to sink, ingesting some of the liquid.

"Taste familiar, Empress? It's wine, with some poison added in. As I understand, your mother did this to you when you were a child. How sad."

'Aestus Domus Aurea!' Wu gasped as her Noble Phantasm was broken apart, and Nero's theatre now took over the room.

"What...but my reality marble can't be broken! This is my space!"

"My Noble Phantasm is not a reality marble. It is simply a vision, but my love for it far outweighs your connection to this room. Now, Open the gate! The curtain to the solo stage draws! Behold my talent! Listen to the thunderous applause! Praise it! The Golden Theatre, Laus Saint Claudius!" Her sword becoming covered in flames again, she dashed to Wu much faster than before, and slashed her apart, her body being incinerated, and the torture room reality marble disappearing.

"Nero." Hayashi looked behind him, seeing her reappear in the palace.

"Mas-oomph…" She began before quickly bringing her hand to her mouth, running over to another hallway and making grotesque sounds behind a pillar. After a few minutes, she came back over, gasping.

"Sorry Master...I ingested poison, I just had to...you know…"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah...I'll manage…" she sighed.

"Do you need treatment?" Nightingale asked.

"No, no…I just need to sit for a moment…" She leaned against another column, sliding downwards and catching her breath.

"So…? You said you had some questions for me." Emiya looked up at Hayashi.

"Yes. Irisviel, if I remember, you became the new core of the grail 13 years ago. How is it that you also turned into a servant and are here now?"

"When I became the core, I was turned into a servant simultaneously. As all things come from the Root, I fused with the grail, which is a creation of it, and was given this Dress of Heaven, becoming a Caster. Since I was still the terminal, I was not in the Throne, and could not be summoned for a time. But a few years ago, Gilgamesh became the new core, and so I was ejected back into the Throne. I was summoned by Angra Mainyu perhaps two weeks ago now."

"I see. Why are you two working with him? He destroyed the both of you the first time."

"Blackmail. If I don't follow his instructions, the King of Kings will eliminate Iri so that she no longer exists within the grail."

"Ugh, that sounds just like him. So then you're not going to team up with us?"

"No, I cannot."

 **X**

Altera and Nezha were brought to a large range of hills covered in pink grass and pink flower petals, along with cherry blossom trees.

"You are the Avatar of Destruction, no?" Nezha asked, twirling her spear.

"Yes. You said your name was...Nezha, if I'm correct?"

"Yes. You must not be familiar with me."

"No. Though my people and I were of Mongolian descent, I spent much of my life in Western Europe. I am not very familiar with legends of the Far East."

"Understandable. I was never quite human. I was born with special abilities, given to me by my master, Taiyi Zhenren, an immortal. While growing up, I was quite arrogant and quick-tempered. I was accused of polluting the river near my hometown by the god Li Gen, whom I confronted and killed. Soon after, his superior god, Ao Bing, also came for me, but lost his life just the same. But upon returning to my village, my human parents were dead, having been killed by the villagers who were angry with me for slaying their deities. Furious at myself for having performed such actions without concern for the consequences, I took my own life. After a time, I was revived as a spirit, becoming a deity myself, the God of Young Boys. In my new life, I defeated and sealed the demons of the Ninety-Six Caverns, and became the rival of one of Xuanzang, our Caster's, disciples, Sun Wukong. I aided them throughout their journeys."

"How interesting. Though you're not safe from me. I have the power to kill gods just like any other enemy."

"You have divinity?"

"Yes. I am the Scourge of God after all."

"Well then, maybe this will be a fun fight." she tilted her head, her feet suddenly lit ablaze. "How do you fight against fire?" She began flying towards Altera, the flames on her feet beginning to rotate quickly, acting like saws, clashing against the Photon Ray sword.

"This sword cannot be broken. It is a relic of Mars himself." She pushed back, knocking the Chinese warrior away. Running up to her, she began to swing the weapon back and forth, Nezha deflecting each strike with her own. But it was clear that she was getting knocked off balance, since Altera's own strikes had much more power behind them. Lighting her feet on fire again, she flew backwards, gaining some distance, then proceeded to fly around to her back and kick her down to the ground with her emblazoned legs. Altera jumped back up, avoiding the next strike, prompting Nezha to back up again.

This time, she tossed her spear up into the ear, extending both of her arms out. The golden bracelets on her wrists lit up with energy, and shot off, beginning to hover around Altera, flying towards her. Backflipping, she gathered light into her blade and launched it at the bracelets, cancelling them out by breaking them. Nezha, catching her spear, flew over to Altera again and knocked her back with a few flame kicks, then sliced her twice, knocking her to the ground again, damaged. Healing herself with Natural Body, she got up and gripped her sword tight.

"Photon Ray!" Utilizing her first Noble Phantasm, the rainbow colored energy of her blade emitted a veil around her and turned her into a drill, flying towards Nezha and clashing with her own shroud of fire, their two weapons seemingly equal. Both getting pushed back, she smiled, brushing hair out of her face.

"Both of our weapons are divine, you won't be able to beat me with sheer force alone."

She remained silent, looking up into the sky.

"Very well. Then I will try another method. Teardrop Photon Ray." She flipped her sword the other way and pointed it up to the sky, the red laser shooting out of the hilt and establishing a connection to Mars. Multiple magic circles appeared, and a giant pillar of blue light shot down towards her.

Lighting her feet on fire, and twirling her spear, she crouched before leaping towards the blast, flying through it. Gritting her teeth as she took damage, she continued upwards, emanating a flame like aura.

"Brutally. Deadly. Noble Phantasm unsealed. Law of the Peach Garden Immortal Arts, disperse the three souls and scatter the seven spirits! This is my Fire-Tipped Spear!" As Altera's blast disappeared, she gasped as Nezha flew down towards her from above.

"Go up in flames!" She picked up her sword and the two clashed as Lancer hit the ground, creating a pillar of fire with the same size and destructive force as the war god's beam. Both of them, now exhausted, were lying on the ground. Saber slowly stood up and grasped her weapon, looking at it.

"Perhaps...I do need to use this after all. I will admit that...of my opponents so far, you are the only one who has a comparable amount of Divinity to myself. But unluckily for you, I still have one final Noble Phantasm left." She lifted her sword into the air and moved it around in a circle.

"As a promise to my Master. Dance through the night sky, and annihilate any trace left of my enemy. I am the one who commands you, and you are the one who obeys. Star Photon Ray!"

The stars above them began to dance across the sky before flying closer to them, targeting Nezha.

'What…?! She's controlling the stars…?!'

"I have a strong connection to the night sky and space. This pattern on my body, and this weapon...I am not Mars' daughter, but I have some of his traits. I am the incarnation of the God of War. And with this weapon, the entire sky is at my disposal. This is an Anti-World Noble Phantasm that will incinerate anyone who is targeted by the stars, and spread their essence across the heavens. Farewell, Lancer." Altera used her regular Photon Ray to fly away fast, as the stars consumed Nezha and shattered the Reality Marble they were in.

Finding herself back in the Chang'an Palace, she fell to her knees, catching her breath.

"Are you alright?" Hayashi walked over quickly and bent down, putting his arm around her.

"Yes...that fight took more out of me than I thought."

"Don't push yourself too hard. Florence. Please heal her."

"Understood."

 **X**

Xuanzang brought them to the top of a mountain range, where she stood at the summit of the tallest one, across from Kato and Oda.

"You two are…Kato Danzo and Oda Nobunaga?"

"Yes. And you are Xuanzang Sanzang, the famous Buddhist monk who traveled to India and back." Nobu replied.

"That's right. So you've heard of me?"

"Yes. Your exploits are rather famous."

"I see. Well then, I lived almost one thousand years before you, but as I recall from the information we received on you, neither of you was a believer in my religion, were you?"

"I am a shinobi, I do not concern myself with religion."

"I abolished religion. I did not need it to run my country. I relied on manpower."

"Hm. Then you were also violent beings. That which I tried to abolish. I will eliminate both of you to make this world a safer place." Her khakkhara disappeared, and instead she created a red long staff, taking a stance to fight them with.

"Support me from a distance." Kato ordered Nobu before dashing at Caster.

"Hm." She dodged Kato's arm blade slashes and spun around, slamming the staff into her stomach, knocking her away. Dispersing the staff and summoning a Monk's Spade, she twirled it before jumping in the air and aiming for Kato with the flat blade end.

Oda stopped her by firing multiple rifles, shooting her down onto the ground. Standing back up, she summoned a nine-toothed rake and stuck it into the ground, flinging dirt towards Nobu, clouding her vision with the dust. In the confusion, she switched back to her khakkhara, and tapped it on the ground, binding Archer with a golden ring that squeezed her body.

"What the…?!"

Xuanzang switched to her spade again and stabbed her with the spade, and then swung her staff into her face, knocking her back against the ground. Kato, now able to get up again, jumped to her feet and placed her arms together, firing bullets from her fingers as her hands rotated. Caster jumped back and tapped her staff on the ground again, creating a shield that protected her. Kato's back opened up, and her canon appeared, firing a rocket at the shield, exploding on impact. While it didn't break it, it cracked it, forcing Xuanzang to gain more distance.

'She's pretty good…' Caster sweated, grinning. Kato continued towards her, this time firing her fists at her, Xuanzang becoming startled and deflecting them. Kato caught them and reattached them.

"You're not getting away!" She increased the output of her feet, pumping out steam, making her dash right up to Xuanzang, slashing her with her arm blades, landing on the ground, as Caster fell behind her.

"Are you alright?" Kato asked Nobu, who was now standing up again.

"Not feeling too great right now…" she coughed.

"Then I'll wrap this up quick." She looked back down to where Xuanzang was before, to find that she wasn't there anymore.

"..." Sensing her behind her, Kato whirled around, but was already too late. Xuanzang flew towards the Assassin, coated in fire. She kicked her in the head, then taking a new martial arts stance.

"The power of the Buddha at full throttle! I'll show you Buddha's protection!" She began throwing a flurry of palm strikes extremely fast, still using flaming energy, severely damaging the karakuri doll. Caster gathered more power into her palm, pulling it back slower and preparing a final strike.

"Aaaay! Five Elements Mountain- Shaka Nyorai Palm!" She called upon Buddha's power and stuck Kato, sending her flying into the next mountain and exploding.

"Kato…" Oda coughed out.

"It's no use. No one has ever survived that before. Now to deal with you." Xuanzang walked over to Nobu and summoned her Monk Spade again, raising it above her.

'I can't...let Nobu die...move, Danzo...force yourself to move...don't disappoint Master…!'

"True Name release, on standby...Wind gather...Kashin Mystic Code activate…! Mechanical Illusionary Art: Bull Swallowing!" Kato found her strength again and flew back towards the two, using her compression vacuum to suck Xuanzang in.

"She's still moving…?! Impossible! If I get drawn into that…!"

"This is the end!"

"I think not! Prophecy of Future Enlightenment: Buddha of Sandalwood Merit!" Her body became surrounded in a golden glow before she shredded through the attack and punched a hole through Kato's stomach, making her fall to the ground. Landing again, she was now cloaked completely in a golden aura, and seemed to have attained a state of religious enlightenment.

"Katou…" Nobu pushed herself onto her knees and went over to the other woman, trying to keep her conscious.

"This Noble Phantasm...is a result of drawing upon powers in my past life, and achieving a state of Buddhahood. I admit that in this state my offensive ability is not increased, but my defensive are at the top of their game. Any attacks you use on me will likely be deflected, just like that cyclone she used."

"Oh. My mistake. Perhaps I should have used something a little more...effective."

Xuanzang's eyes widened as she looked behind her, finding Kato there, better than ever.

"Then what is…?" She turned back and saw the other one rust away.

"Mechanical Illusion."

"Ah. Of course. From the information we have on you, you are a rather talented trickster, aren't you? And what's with the new outfit?" She asked, pointing to her.

Indeed, her previous outfit had changed a bit. She now had a piece of metal headgear in her hair that looked like horns. Her arms and legs now had spiked metal and maroon armor on them, and her pants were replaced with a simple short black skirt. However, she looked more confident and powerful than before.

"Hmm… And what did you have in mind?"

"Black Arts Decapitation Technique: Moonflower." Kato dashed past her, much faster, and decapitated her body into five petals, resembling a flower.

Xuanzang didn't even see it coming, disappearing back to the throne. Picking up Archer, they arrived back at the palace, and Hayashi had Florence heal Nobu.

"You look different." Hayashi remarked.

"I've ascended to a new level of power, Master. Servants are not always summoned with the abilities they had during their lifetimes, but we can certainly build up to that rank again."

"I see. So you've dealt with Caster, then."

"Yes."

"Good. Then all we need is Jeanne and then we can finish up."

 **X**

Jeanne found herself in a bustling city, looking far more modern than Chang'an.

"Where...are we?" She asked, looking around.

"This, my dear, is Shanghai. The largest city in the world, and one of the most important as well. I spent a good deal of time here when I was younger, during this time period. This will be the location for our fight."

"This is rather modern looking. You must have lived recently."

"Indeed. I've only been a servant for about 80 years. So modern society isn't all that surprising to me as it might have been for you."

"Hm."

"Tell me, how skilled are you with your weapons? Your flag can be used as a lance, and you also have a sword."

"I do not use the sword except in dire situations. As for my flag, I would consider myself well-versed."

"Have you ever killed anybody with it?"

"E-Excuse me?"

"Ah. I can tell you haven't. You're not an experienced fighter, you were more of a figurehead for your army."

"That's not true…"

"I am a warrior, Ruler. Do you know what they called me? God Spear Li. Because...well...you'll find out soon enough." He wasted no time in throwing his coat to the ground and thrusting his spear at her, dodging quickly. Jeanne jumped back, and already, he was on a nearby rickshaw, looking back at her, motioning to another one.

"Want me, come catch me. I don't fight just anyone, they have to prove themselves." Nodding, she went onto another one, and the drivers started running through the streets.

"I thought these were supposed to be luxurious and calming!" Jeanne yelled, trying to keep her balance.

"Hahaha! This is my reality marble, Holy Maiden! I have control over this space!" He turned around, now facing her, ready to fight.

"You can't be serious!" She drew her flag as well, trying to keep up with him.

"Oh, I am!" He started lunging at her, as they both clashed, Jeanne's driver abandoning the cart so that she had to keep going straight herself. Though her flag was heavier than his thin spear, it felt as if it had the same amount of force in each strike, making them even.

"Come on, you can't be this nervous!"

"I don't like heights!"

"This isn't high up!"

"It's moving!" she retaliated, jumping from her cart towards him, Li jumping away and grabbing onto the side of a building.

'Freerunning now, is it?' Jumping away from her own cart, she grabbed onto the building's roof, and flipped up, now standing across from Lancer.

"Have your bearings again? You're welcome." He twirled his spear around before dashing at her, slashing every which way with the tip.

Jeanne continued to dodge, and also clash with her own weapon. Li jumped up and stomped on the flagpole, knocking it to the ground and kicking her back.

"I have the advantage again, Holy Maiden." He picked up her flag and dropped it over the side of the building.

"You're unarmed. Unless…" He eyed her sword.

"Trying to get me to sacrifice myself? It won't work." She noticed his gaze.

" _Saintess. Switch."_

" _What? Why?"_

" _Because you're failing miserably! Our flag is gone, and only I can use our sword without having to die! Plus I'm stronger. So hurry up!"_

" _Well...alright…"_

When Li aimed his spear at her heart, Alter came out and grabbed it, pulling him in and stabbing him with her sword.

"Ghurgk…" He stumbled backwards, and Jeanne stood up, pulling her sword out of him, then swiping it through the air to rid it of blood.

"Now then...ready to go again?"

"Who are you…?"

"Think of me as the Saintess' other half. Now let's start." She put her sword in its sheath and created a black lance out of magic energy, rushing towards him.

'She's fast…!' Their weapons collided, and Alter pushed him back a bit, jumping up and kicking him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Jumping to his feet, he tossed his spear into the air, launching himself towards her, dodging her strike and landing right in front of her, and jabbing her chest with his fingers.

Gasping, she fell to her knees.

"What...did you do to me?"

"With my ba ji, two strikes are not needed. My Noble Phantasm, No Second Strike, is my reputation as a manifestation. I just cut off your qi by using qi of my own." His spear fell down and he caught it.

"And now that you're down, I can finish you. Observe carefully, the exquisite skill of the Liu He Da Qiang! My spear will rectify the one-hit kill. There is absolutely no contradiction to this spear that is exalted as the Divine Spear! God Spear, No Second Strike!"

"La Grondement Du Haine!" Jeanne grinned at her, a circle of flames shooting up around them, before stakes manifested and impaled him, just like they did Abigail.

"But...I severed access to your chi…How…?" He coughed out.

"When fighting a Heroic Spirit, it's all about their legends. I am from France, so we don't believe in things like qi. Never used the word when I was alive. When you become a servant, the Holy Grail incorporates your history very literally. So, I don't really have 'qi.'"

"Hehe...if you've never used or heard of the word before, then you wouldn't know what it is. And perhaps the first time it didn't work is because I missed your heart because of your giant tits."

Alter growled at him before falling forward, gasping. Li gathered energy from his body and used it to break the stakes, falling onto his knees.

"You didn't notice that I used my Sphere Boundary skill, did you? Your Noble Phantasm missed my vital points. It looks like I still got you a bit, didn't I? Now then, let's try this again. And this time, I won't miss. God Spear, No Second Strike." Stabbing her twice in the chest, the tip of his weapon gave off a faint golden glow before he tapped her in the same place, a burst of energy sending her flying across the rooftop.

He watched her go, resting his spear over his shoulder.

"Qi is our life energy, it is a force that keeps our minds and bodies in balance, and without it, we'd die. As you're about to."

"Saintess…" Alter disappeared, and Jeanne stood in her place, looking at him again.

"You're back. What do you expect to do now, you're weaker than she was." She kept her eyes fixated on him, unsheathing her sword and kneeling down, placing her hands around the blade.

"Oh? So you're going to use it after all? I won't let you!" He dashed towards her, preparing another qi based strike, but as soon as he stood in front of her, she quickly stood up and slashed him with it, up through his torso.

"G….GAHHHH…!" Falling over, he dropped his weapon, unable to move from the sheer size of the wound. Jeanne found a piece of cloth and wiped the sword clean, then resheathing it.

"This blade is the Sword of St. Catherine, a Saint who lived over 1000 years before me and converted hundreds of people to Christianity during a time where it was rather frowned upon. I have never swung this sword once until just now. The reason I don't use it is because it's a Suicide Noble Phantasm. If I use its full power, I will sacrifice myself. And my master wouldn't approve of that." She looked down at him.

"I...see...you have a good Master, then...just like mine…A master should...care for his servants...and not treat them like pawns or materials...you should stay close to him…" He disappeared, going back to the Throne.

"I intend to." Jeanne jumped down to the street, retrieving her flag as the sub-reality marble disappeared, bringing her back to the Chang'an palace.

"Master!" She called out, waving happily to Hayashi.

"There you are. You won?"

"Yes. Though Alter will be out of commission for a bit." She looked away.

"It's alright. Nice job. Now then…" He turned his attention back to the final three.

"Before we get started, there's one last question I have for you. What is Angra Mainyu's plan?"

"What do you mean? To possess you again, of course, and regain the power he lost."

"If that were truly all he wanted, he wouldn't summon so many servants and send us all over the place."

"Hmph. All I know is what I just said. I tried to keep my distance from him considering what happened the last time I met him."

"...I see. I suppose I'll just have to ask one of the others."

"What? You don't trust me?"

"No."

"Fine. Be that way. Iri."

"Yes." Their force field hovered into the air like a bubble, and placed them up by the throne, where Wu was previously. She released it, and Altera gripped her sword, dashing up towards them, ready to strike. Until Yan Qing jumped in front of her and kicked her in the face, sending her flying back down to the ground. He landed at the top of the stairs, in front of the two.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to let you do anything to harm Lord Kiritsugu or Lady Irisviel. None of you are going to get past me." He looked back at them.

"No harm will come to you, I assure you." Iri smiled and nodded at him.

"I don't believe I introduced myself before. My true name is Yan Qing, the 36th Heavenly Spirit of the 108 Stars of Destiny. I am also retainer to Lord Kiritsugu and Lady Irisviel. Anything you wish to do with them must go through me first." He snapped his fingers, and instantly, they were all outside of the palace, in the city once again. The front doors closed and sealed shut, preventing them from getting back to Emiya family.

"So then...this city is your Reality Marble, is it?" Altera asked.

"Yes, it is. My origin is Water Margin, one of the four great Chinese Classical Novels. But the book and the author itself are a mystery. As such, I don't really have a place of origin, as most of you do. But, since my origin is important to Ancient China as a whole, I would be at my strongest in the ancient capital."

"Chang'an." Hayashi looked around. He nodded, jumping down from the top of the palace to the front steps.

"So then, let's see how well you fight me at my best." Altera and Nero dashed towards him, both aiming to cut him across the torso. Blocking both blades using the gauntlets on his wrists, he jumped up and kicked both of them away, doing a split in midair. Nobu began firing shots at him, but he rushed past them, kicking her upwards. Hayashi and Jeanne went next, trying to stop him in midair.

"Not going to work." He teleported away from them, causing the two to fall into each other.

"Bastard. This is the end, Assassin! Three Thousand Worlds!" Nobu summoned her three thousand rifles, firing them all at him.

"I see. A rather difficult attack to avoid. But not too much for me." He pounded his fists together, dashing off towards the forest, jumping and swinging from tree to tree in order to avoid the bullets.

"Tch."

"Come on, let's go after him." All of them began pursuit, as he stood in the middle of the area.

"Come." he grinned.

"Do it." Hayashi nodded to Kato.

"Mechanical Illusionary Art: Bull Swallowing! Evil Wind Death Storm!" She cleared the forest away using her cyclone.

"Oh ho! Not bad. Zhong Guo Quan Fa." He gathered energy onto his fists, a golden light surrounding them, as he ran up to them and began to fight them off unarmed.

Hayashi threw multiple punches at him, but he blocked them all, catching the last one and tossing him away, making his body spin around before landing on the ground. Altera went next, thrusting her sword at him multiple times, but he was able to avoid them all with ease, kicking her against a tree.

"Next." he mocked. Nero stepped forward, adding magic power to her sword, transforming it to its silver version.

"This is something you cannot avoid so easily." She planted her sword on the ground, activating her vision, bringing them to the open sea.

"Hm? Where's this coming from?" He tapped the water with his feet. Nero stood opposite of him, and her giant evolved platinum theatre, with her standing on top of it.

"Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theatre rises from within the sea-Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the illustrius, praised in song! That is, my Golden Theatre! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" From all of the pipe organs up top shot numerous purple lasers, all homing in on him.

"Ah, she's right. This doesn't bode well for me." He began to dodge them by various flips and dodges, but was eventually overwhelmed by the rest of the beams. Nero's move was undone, and Yan Qing's body was injured, lying on the ground.

"Aha! You cannot match up to my abilities, no matter how good you are at hand to hand combat!" Nero boasted.

"Ugh...yeah, that really hurt...but it still wasn't enough to stop me." He slowly stood up. The others moved in to stop him immediately.

"Secret Technique ready. The honorable scoundrel of darkness is on the scene. Ambushed from Ten Sides- As If There Was No Shadow." Instantly, appearing in multiple places at once as afterimages, he delivered a flurry of blows against every member of Hayashi's team, none of them being able to comprehend what was happening.

"The final blow." His hand became encased in golden energy, and he closed his fist, creating an explosion of light that knocked all of them away, heavily injured.

Yan Qing sighed, beginning to walk away.

"That should do it. I'll let Lord Kiritsugu know mission accomplished, and for Angra Mainyu to come and get you. And finish the rest of you off."

'Damn it, Kato...get up! Again, show Master what you can do with your new powers! He's an opponent from an enemy country! This is what you were built to fight for! Koji-sama created you for this purpose!'

"Guys…" Hayashi coughed out, trying to reach for them. But none of them had the strength to do so.

'We can't let him win! Come on! Stand up!'

Yan Qing stopped, turning around to see her standing again, still heavily damaged.

"You can't beat me." He walked up to her, and she threw a bad punch at him, which he easily dodged and kicked her back onto the ground.

"Kato...take the rest of my magic power…" Hayashi transferred the rest of his energy to her, engulfing her body in light, evolving her form again.

Her leg and wrist armor had been removed, and she now wore a maroon robe with long flowing tails replacing her scarf. Her hair was now down, and new samurai-like armor now covered her shoulders and wrists.

"Ohoh...things are getting interesting." He picked up a log and tossed it at her, which she sliced through with her arm blades. Yan Qing encased his fists in light, dashing towards her, and beginning to fight hand to hand. Kato blocked his strikes and kicked him in the face, then backflipping away and firing bullets from her fingers. He dodged all of them and began to fight back again, kicking towards her multiple times. She avoided them and jumped above, activating spinning blades in her arms and feet, falling down rotating like a saw. Yan Qing blocked her with his armor, but it was able to cut through and slice him.

"Gah…You…" He engulfed his whole body in light, glaring at her.

"Let's finish this." She took an attack ready stance, leaping towards him.

"Take this! Shi Mian Mai Fu- Wu Ying Zuo Wei!"

"Youjutsu Zanhou- Yuugao!" Both of them clashed, and all of the energy that Yan Qing had been using was released, injuring the both of them. They both stood standing for a few moments before Kato slowly fell over. Yan Qing had cuts all over his body, but would not allow himself to give up.

"You...you're the real Master Assassin...aren't you?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Sorry...but when it comes to martial arts, there's no other servant who can best me." He laughed softly before his body began to disperse into particles.

"No...not yet...Irisviel…" He slowly forced himself to walk back to the palace, leaving the others there. Pushing the palace doors open, he took a single step before collapsing in a pool of his own blood.

"Yan Qing, no!" Iri ran down the stairs, followed by Kiritsugu. She cradled him in her arms, crying.

"Please, my lady...don't weep for me...this was why I was summoned after all, and I'd say I fulfilled my purpose. No harm has come to you, just as I promised." He smiled at her.

"Please don't go…"

"I have to...I cannot remain conscious any longer…I'm sorry…but...this is not the last time we will meet. Remember what I said before...come find me in the Throne…" She cupped his face as the rest of him disappeared, going back to where he came from. The Chang'an reality marble began to collapse as well, bringing them all back to the open field south of Xi'an.

Kiritsugu looked over to where the rest of them were laid out.

"...Iri. Heal him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. We should settle things between us."

"Very well. Resolution of Commitment and...Magic Medicine." She performed healing magic on Hayashi, allowing him to stand up again.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm not at full capacity, but...I'll manage."

"Good then. Just the two of us. Are you ready to fight?"

"Yes. I've been saving something special for this." He reached under his coat and pulled out an SMG that had been strapped to his waist.

"You brought a gun to a gunfight. Smart." he chuckled, pulling out his own.

Hayashi kept his gun trained on Kiritsugu before quickly switching his target to Iri, making her gasp.

"No, stop!" Kiritsugu stepped in front of her, taking the bullets that Hayashi fired.

"Kiritsugu!" She screamed.

"You're playing dirty…" he growled.

"Yeah, well that's how you used to do things, right?"

Irisviel cast transparent magic swords from behind, flying towards him, but Hayashi noticed and cast a shield that blocked the attack.

"Not good enough." Kiritsugu turned around and picked her up, bringing her somewhere away from them, where she's safe.

"You leave her out of this." He dashed back towards Hayashi, taking his knife out.

"I can't promise that. She's an enemy, just like you."

"Then I'll do everything in my power to stop you. Phantasm Punishment!" Hayashi dodged his strikes, grabbing his hand and disarming the knife, then kicking Kiritsugu in the face and taking his weapon for his own. Emiya grabbed his gun and fired again, trying to get the weapon back. Hayashi cast a moving shield that followed him as he gained distance.

'Those are magic bullets...and this knife, too…' Kiritsugu pulled out another duplicate knife and tossed it towards Hayashi, who prepared to catch it.

"Time Alter: Double Accel." He teleported to where the knife was, taking Hayashi by surprise by kicking him.

"Chronos Rose." Beginning to teleport all around Hayashi, he cut him many times with the knife before placing another gun, his Thompson Contender, against Hayashi's chest, firing it. As he stepped out of the way, the mage fell over onto the ground, bleeding out.

"I normally shoot people in the head, but in this case, I'm not supposed to kill you. My knife, Phantasm Punishment, also severs your connection with your magical circuits and crests. I've won, Hayashi."

"Master…" Jeanne called out.

"You're Master's done." Kiritsugu looked over at her.

"Verg...Avesta…"

"What….?!" Kiritsugu felt an immense amount of pain all of a sudden, stumbling away from Hayashi, whose wounds healed and allowed him to stand up again.

"Hehe...you underestimated me." He grinned, his eyes now glowing red, using his Avenger powers.

"So...this is why you're sought after by him…" he coughed.

"Yeah...I have some of his power...and that Noble Phantasm, Verg Avesta, inflicts any damage that I've taken onto my opponent."

"Master...I told you to use that ability sparingly…" Florence called out.

"I'm going to use it when I deem it necessary to use. It's my body, after all." He responded.

"Damn you…"

"Unfortunately for you, my wounds heal thanks to these powers, and yet yours don't."

"I'm a genuine servant, unlike you. My body can handle more pain than yours can. You should listen to your Berserker. How many times have you used that technique now? It certainly must take its toll on you, dealing damage like that and healing it rapidly. Your lifespan will be severely shortened. All of your cells will stop working, and in turn stop being created."

"What do I care? I have nothing left. I'm just like you."

"No. You're wrong. At least I have Iri." Hayashi frowned, as Kiritsugu prepared to attack again, thrusting multiple times with his knife and firing a few shots with his Thompson. Hayashi dodged the attacks, retaliating with his own gun, which Kiritsugu deflected with his knife.

"Phantasm Punishment." He aimed for Hayashi's ankles, where the magic circuits in his feet originated.

"I don't think so." Hayashi jumped up, dodging the attack, and threw the knife that he had stolen earlier at Kiritsugu's waistcoat, pinning him down to the ground. As Hayashi came down again, he kicked his head onto the ground and prepared to deliver a final blow.

"No! Kiritsugu! Release! Heaven's Feel! Sing Out, O' White Grail! Song of Grail!" Irisviel became enveloped in a rainbow light as healing magic transferred to all those around her, including Hayashi's servants.

"Master, we can…!" Jeanne began before Hayashi used command spells to keep them all immobile.

"I said this is my fight. Stay out of it."

'Now's my chance!' Irisviel created more ethereal blades behind Hayashi and sent them flying, impaling him.

"Oh…! They hit…" She gasped, seeming surprised.

"Verg Avesta." Iri yelped as all of the damage he had taken was suddenly transferred to her, making her fall over, imobile.

"You bastard! I told you to leave her alone!" Kiritsugu stood up again, trying his best to hurt Hayashi. He did manage to cut him across his chest.

He sighed and punched Kiritsugu with all of his might, knocking the wind out of the assassin and sending him stumbling backwards. Hayashi caught his dropped Thompson and quickly fired off three shots in his chest, making him fall down next to his beloved.

"Urggh...I'm sorry Iri...we had a chance to make our lives right again, and….we just ended up like this again."

"It's okay...because this time...we'll be together...right? On the Throne…and so we won't have to be without each other anymore...and the others will be there with us...doesn't that sound better than last time…?"

"...Yes. Yes, it certainly does. I love you, Iri."

"...I love you too." The two kissed as their bodies dispersed and went back to the Throne. Hayashi watched the trail of gold particles spiral into the sky, smiling. He put his gun away and watched the knife he had disappear as well as his powers deactivated and he released his command spells.

"Master!" Jeanne ran up to him.

"Hm?"

"You're...smiling. This is the first time I've seen you do that."

"Is it? Sorry, it must seem out of character for me."

"No, don't apologize. I like it." she smiled back.

"I think...I just figured something out. Something that I can do that can fix everything."

"Huh?"

"I have to think about it a little more, but...it just might work." He patted Jeanne on the head before walking back towards the city, the others following him.

 **X**

"So then...this is the Throne of Heroes?" Irisviel asked, looking around to see a golden area.

"Yes. This is the entrance. Beyond here is an entire world of culture, civilization, and nature. You haven't seen any of it yet."

"Hey, you guys are finally back. Come on, hurry up." They looked up to see a red Archer greeting them.

"Come on then. Let's go." He smiled at the both of them.

 **X**

"Well, there goes Assassin." Angra stood alone with his four most trusted servants.

"Yan Qing was defeated?" Solomon asked, casting a spell into a magic circle of some kind.

"Yes, both him and Kiritsugu."

"Damn it! They keep getting closer to us." Edmond cursed.

"I thought that was the point. To build up Hayashi's power so that Angra can become strong enough to go through the experiment." Ramesses countered.

"I don't like that idea now. What if he becomes strong enough to defeat him? Then Avenger won't get to take over his body."

"A valid point." Angra nodded in agreement. "But I wouldn't worry about that part. If we must, I can simply have you three go first before I do, and then beat him up enough so that I can take over and undergo the change."

"...Berserker? Any thoughts?" Angra asked, all of them looking over to him. "You've been staying out of this whole operation this whole time. What do you think about everything?"

"...I think that I don't really care. I told you when you summoned me. I don't need to become a Grand Servant to take back my country. It's all a part of your own agenda."

"Well then, you don't want to undergo it? That's fine, I can have Lancer do it instead-"

"I didn't say that I didn't want to do it."

"Ahh, and the truth comes out." he smirked.

"I'll be preparing to head back home soon. So if all of the others continue to fail in fights against him, then call me over. I'd be happy to smash his face in a few times." He grinned, his eyes sparking with red lightning.

 **End.**

 **Sorry it took so long. Two weeks left in the semester, final projects and all that. Anyways, I hope you liked it. This chapter is a big turning point in the story, for a few different reasons as you'll find out. Also, two new servants join Hayashi next chapter. Hayashi will begin to bond with Altera and Jeanne now as well, though I will probably have him do Alter first because of her more straightforward personality, and then finally coin Ruler into a lemon a little later on because of her shyness. Thanks for supporting this story guys, I can't believe it's already at 60 favs and 70 followers.**


	7. Part 2: Bath

**Anyone see the sketch of Hiro Mashima's characters for his new work Eden's Zero? They're all stolen/reused designs from Fairy Tail. Come on man, be more creative...Anyways, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Freerunning with Jeanne: Tori ni Iku (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Discussion with Shirou and Rin: Painful (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Mozart Summoned: Le Nozze di Figaro Overture (W.A. Mozart)**

 **Mozart Sad Song: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, I. Allegro (W.A. Mozart)**

 **Musashi Summon:** **エミヤ ～無元の剣製～ エミヤ アレンジ 英霊剣豪七番勝負** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Bath: Water Music Suite No. 2 in D Major- I. Andante (George Frideric Handel)**

 **Camelot: Wild Boar's Inn (Brandon Fiechter)**

 **Knights of the Round Table: Sir Mordred (Derek Fiechter)**

 **Musashi vs. Bedivere: Misty Lake (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Kato vs. Tristan: Knight's Passage (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Nero vs. Gawain: Molten Mine (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Altera vs. Mordred: Dragon's Lair (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Hayashi, Jeanne, and Florence vs. Lancelot: Shrouded Forest (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Lancelot's Transformation: For the Kingdom and its People (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Vs. Lancelot Berserker: Dragon Slayer (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Merlin Appearance: The Barrier (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Merlin Talk: Merlin's Study (Brandon Fiechter)**

 **Vs. Artoria and Merlin: The Knight of Rebellion (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Vs. Artoria: Fight the Knignt [Instrumental] (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Vs. Merlin: Great Megalith (Sonic and the Black Knight OST)**

 **Hayashi's Lament: Burial (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

"Master...Master, wake up." Hayashi was nudged a few times.

"Mmh?" His eyes slowly opened, finding himself in bed, back home. That's right, they had left China and come back yesterday. Sitting next to him was Jeanne, dressed in tight blue gym shorts and a white short sleeve shirt.

"Master, it's time to wake up." she smiled at him.

"Ugh...five more minutes." he mumbled, wrapping his arm around her.

She sighed, watching his sleeping form.

"Master, come on. I want you to help me with something, and it's already 11 in the morning. We can't just waste the day away like this."

"Sure we can. Watch me." he grumbled.

"Grr…WAKE UP!" She switched to Alter and punched him in the face, making him groan.

"Sorry Master, but this is important to me." She switched back to her Ruler persona, rubbing her head and laughing sheepishly.

"Alright, alright...what is it?"

"I want to go exercising with you. That's why I'm dressed like this." She smiled thinly.

"Exercising? Uggh…"

"Freerunning specifically, Master."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because my opponent in China was proficient in it, and had multiple advantages because of it. Considering we might encounter opponents like that again, it would be wise to be prepared next time."

"I get it. Alright, give me a few minutes to get ready." He yawned, getting up. Jeanne sat down on his bed, twiddling her thumbs.

"You don't have to just sit there and wait for me, you know." He said, getting dressed.

"What do you expect me to do instead?"

"Go get some breakfast or something."

"Master, we're about to go run through the city. You know that wouldn't be good for me."

"You're a servant, I'm sure you could handle it more than a normal person could."

"I'm not as strong as you think, Master. Compared to Altera…"

"Altera's a special case. She's kind of a hard threshold to cross. You're still a top class servant, and a Ruler to boot." He came out in shorts and a t shirt.

"Alright, ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Alright, let's get going.

 **X**

He took her out to a section of the city full of buildings.

"Hang on to me."

"Huh?! Why?!"

"Just do it."

"W-Well, alright…" She stood next to him and he put his arm around her and used reinforcement to launch themselves up to the roof.

"Alright, so, to start…why are you still holding me?"

"I don't like heights…"

"...You can't be serious. You're a Saint, and you're afraid of heights."

"I'm still a 19 year old girl!"

"Fears stem from your mind, not your body. The fastest way you'll get over it is by tackling it directly."

"I-I don't know if I can do that…" She muttered. He could feel her trembling at this point.

"If you didn't think you could do it, then why did you ask me to bring you out here?"

"I thought we'd be running on the ground and maneuvering through obstacles!"

"That's only part of it. Hold on to me." Immediately after he finished that sentence, he jumped across the roof, Jeanne screaming as she wrapped herself around him. They landed smoothly, and he looked down at her.

"So? How was that?"

"That...wasn't so bad…" she said, slowly letting go. "It kind of gives you a rush, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. So, ready to try it on your own? Just use your strength to launch yourself. You're a servant, you're way stronger than a normal person."

"Alright…" The two spotted the next place to jump, and got a running start, then propelling themselves up and across to another one.

"I can keep going!" She panted, continuing to jump from building to building before going down to the ground and going over some obstacles.

"Heh...not bad." Hayashi used reinforcement to follow in her path, running past her, then turning to face her, running backwards.

"It looks like I'm still faster!"

"Master, watch out!" Hayashi stopped and looked to his right before he got slammed into by a taxi, sending him flying across the street.

 **X**

His eyes slowly fluttered open, finding himself back in his bed.

"Huh? What happened?" he asked, seeing Jeanne next to him.

"Master! You were hit by a car!"

"Ugh...I'm sorry, this isn't how I wanted your lesson to go…"

"It was silly of me to ask you anyways, don't feel bad. All that matters now is that you get healed up."

"Don't worry about that, my powers already did most of the work." He sat up slowly as they heard the doorbell ring.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Let's find out." He opened it to find two people, a boy and a girl, both around 20 years old, standing at his front door.

The boy had short red spiky hair and golden brown eyes, wearing dark jeans, brown shoes, a white shirt, and a light green sweatshirt over it.

The girl had long black hair and aqua eyes, wearing brown boots, black leggings, a short black skirt, and a red button down blouse, with a carry on bag over her shoulder. Her hair was tied in a ponytail.

"What do you two want?"

"Can we come in?" the girl asked.

"No. I just got hit by a car and I'm still in recovery."

"You got hit by a car?!" she screamed.

"Yeah. So now's not the best time-"

"Master, don't be rude." He was interrupted by Nero.

"Saber?" The boy asked, surprised.

"Hmm? Have we met before?"

"N-No, sorry. You just look like someone else."

"I see, I see! Please, come in! Tell me of this individual!" she said cordially, opening the door and stepping to the side. The two glanced at Hayashi, who sighed and rolled his eyes, walking towards his living room. The two stepped inside, following him.

"Have a seat." They sat down on a couch, Hayashi sitting across from them.

"Oh, guests. Master, would you like me to prepare some food for them?" Florence asked, walking out.

"No, that won't be necessary."

"And you are?" the girl asked.

"Florence Nightingale, Berserker class." She introduced herself.

"Don't worry about all of them, they'll just be hanging around. So, Rin, Shirou, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

"I heard from the Vice-Director that one of the servants summoned was my father." Shirou looked at Hayashi seriously. "Is that true?"

"It was. I sent both him and Irisviel back to the Throne the other day."

"I see...thank you for that."

"He was my enemy. Nothing more, nothing less."

"That's not true." Rin interjected. "You're the type who only fights someone if it's to satisfy your own interests. Why did you take this mission in the first place?"

"Because Avenger is involved."

"Exactly. Do you think you would have said yes if he weren't?"

"...Probably not."

"So why did you fight Kiritsugu then?"

"Because we're alike! Is that the answer you wanted to hear?!" Everything went quiet for a moment before he sighed, turning away from them.

"When I first read about Kiritsugu during my studies of the Holy Grail War...I thought that he and I were completely different. That I'd never turn out to be someone like him...an Assassin, who goes around killing for money or for his own personal gain. But after the incident...I had nothing left, just like him. I was alone. But now even he and Irisviel can stay together forever on the Throne. And I'm still just stuck down here…"

"And what's so bad about down here?" Shirou asked.

"Down here I'm reminded of everything I did. And everyone who hates me."

"We don't hate you, Master." Jeanne reminded him.

"And where do you come from?"

"The Throne…"

"Exactly. Anyone who knows who I am stays away from me because of my reputation. Remember what I told you back in Monte Carlo?"

"Mmmm…" she looked away.

"I hated myself. I still do. That's why there's nothing left for me here."

"You still have us." Rin smiled at him.

"You're both members of the Association. You're ordered to hunt me down if I leave."

"But…"

"Please. Just leave me."

"...Alright. Come on, Shirou." The two reluctantly got up and went to the door.

"Hayashi. For someone to change, they have to want to change." Rin told him.

"Tell that to the rest of the world." He narrowed his eyes at her, making her sadly close the door behind her.

"Master, must you always push others away?" Nero asked.

"They pushed me away first. Now then...forgetting about all of this, I thought it was about time to summon another servant to help us. All of us had trouble fighting against the chinese servants, especially Yan Qing. And that's because servants from the far east are trained in combat differently than western ones. Over here, wars were often fought based on the size of the armies and the strength of the commander, and over there it was the strength of the individual. Their style of combat revolves around martial arts as opposed to weapons or more primitive forms of fighting. Since it's very possible that we could encounter more servants like that, I figured I should summon another one who's from the far east to help us next time."

"But you already have us, Master." Kato and Nobu said.

"And you guys aren't really suited for close up combat all that much. You're an Assassin and an Archer, you're meant for quick kills and distance. Now come on." He went down to his basement, where a large area was cleared for a summoning circle, the others joining him.

"Master, there's so many servants on the Throne, how do you expect to summon one specifically from that area?" Altera asked.

"Since I have Japanese blood in me, I'm hoping to be able to rely on my lineage to sway the chances." He held out his hand as the red circle began to brim with energy.

"Come forth now, servant! Fight by my side, and assist with all of my future endeavors!" A beam of light shot up, and before long, a servant was standing in the middle.

He was about average height, 5'9", and wore a rather fancy outfit, consisting of black dress shoes, black pants, a purple sash, a black suit with green ornaments on it, and a black overcoat with the same green ornaments on his sleeves. He had long curly blonde hair and wore a large purple hat with long golden tassels, plus a shiny mask that covered his eyes. He slowly walked out of the circle before smiling and snapping his fingers, and orchestra of angels appearing as he summoned a conductor's baton. Beginning to conduct, the orchestra began to play the overture to The Marriage of Figaro.

"Congratulations, Mage! You, my new Master, are given the honor of having the composer loved by God as your new servant! I am Caster class, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! I am not proficient in battles, but when it comes to class and decoration, there is none that surpasses me!" he announced, the players sound emanating from behind him.

"...Master, I thought you were trying to summon a combat type servant from Asia?" Florence whispered to him.

"I was." He mumbled, staring blankly at his new servant.

"Oh...what?" Mozart snapped his fingers again, and his angels stopped playing immediately. Turning around and facing Hayashi, he looked rather disappointed.

"You weren't intending to summon me?" he sulked. "Something a little more solemn, everyone. How about...my 40th." He snapped his fingers again, and they began to play his 40th symphony with great precision.

"Master, what went wrong?" Altera asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I really do need a catalyst to summon a particular kind of servant. When someone summons a servant without one, they tend to be chosen based on personality compatibility. But this time…hold on a sec, let me go grab something." He went upstairs into his room and grabbed an old fashioned katana, bringing it back downstairs.

"A sword?" Nero asked.

"Yeah. It was my mom's. Her ancestors were samurai, and so this is one of their katanas, passed down through the generations. Maybe this will help out."

"But what about him?" She looked back at Mozart, who was still conducting. They all remained silent, watching him.

"...You know, this is actually kind of nice. Maybe I can keep him around for entertainment."

"And we've never seen Mozart himself play and write pieces." Florence smiled.

"Yeah. Hey, Mozart!"

"Yes?" He snapped his fingers again, the orchestra stopping.

"Could you move out of the summoning circle? I need to use it for something else."

"Ah, of course! My apologies!" His orchestra disappeared, and he went and stood nearby the other servants. Hayashi placed the sword in the middle of the circle and went outside out of it.

"This time I'm going to use a chant as well." He held his hand out again, the circle beginning to light up and the sword floating up into the air and rotating.

"Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate. Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth. An oath shall be sworn here. I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven; I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell. From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance! …...And please be from the Far East."

A column of light shot up again, and the sword spun in the air before it was caught by a woman.

"This is yours, Master?" She threw it back to him, and he caught it again, taking in his new servant's appearance.

"She was 5'4", and had long light pink hair that was tied up with a disc shaped kind of hairband, making the ends shaped into a flower. She wore tall gray thigh high socks, over which were light red boots, a fancy blue robe with red sashes over it, long trailing sleeves, and four swords strapped to her waist, two on each side. Her large amount of cleavage was displayed due to the low cut of her outfit, and her hazy blue eyes and red earrings made her very beautiful. It was odd. If she wore modern clothes, she would look like she belonged in this time.

"Servant, Saber, Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu...sorry, let me start over. Servant Saber, Miyamoto Musashi. I take it you are my Master?" she smirked at Hayashi, who grinned.

"Now that's more like it!" She stepped out of the circle, glancing around curiously before stopping at Hayashi.

"Yes, I'm the one who summoned you. So, Musashi, have you ever been summoned before?"

"Not very often. Most people don't have the personality to match me, or a catalyst to do it. Which reminds me, how did you acquire one of my swords?"

"What? It's not. I just figured I'd use something with significant Japanese value to increase my chances of summoning a servant from Japan."

"Hm? May I see it for a moment?" Hayashi handed it to her, and she took it out of its sheath, examining both sides of the blade.

"You're right...this is not one of mine...I never used it." She put it back and handed it back to him. He went to take it back upstairs, Musashi's eyes following him closely.

'If he used the sword simply to increase his chances of summoning a Japanese servant, then we must have either compatible personalities, or his magic power was enough to summon me…'

"What are the rest of you doing here?" she asked, turning to them all.

"We're Master's servants as well." Nero answered.

"What?! All of you?! How is that possible?!"

"He has a huge amount of magic power. And a special kind at that." Jeanne told her.

"I see...is he a good master?"

"Yes, the best. He's strong, and caring, and handsome, and…" Nero held her face, blushing.

"...…" All of them followed him out of the basement, sitting in various places in the living room. Hayashi joined them a moment later as they all looked at him and smiled. All except for Mozart, who was playing one of his pieces at the piano.

"Now then...what to do about you…" He asked, walking over to Mozart.

"Yes, Master? Are you going to sever your contract with me?" he asked, giving Hayashi sad puppy eyes.

"No, nothing like that. But you said that you're not suited for combat. I'd feel bad leaving you behind, but I'd feel worse bringing you just for you to die. So for now, stay here, and…Nobu, you look after him. After all, you're always the lazy one anyways."

"Master…" she groaned.

"I'm just calling it like I see it. In the meantime, here." Hayashi handed Mozart a list of names.

"What are these?"

"Composers that you should listen to and study. They'll get you caught up to the music of our time."

"Ah, thank you Master! That's a great idea! Only...do you have their scores?" He turned back to Nobu.

"Your other task is to show him how to use the internet."

"But that will take so long!"

"He's a genius, I doubt it will take him too much time."

"But Master-!"

"Oh, would you look at that, a text from Lorelei." He ignored her, looking at his phone.

"Where to this time Master?" Jeanne asked.

"Actually not too far away. Somerset. It'll be about a 3 hour drive, so whenever you're ready."

 **X**

"Merlin, may I come in?" Artoria asked, knocking on the door to his study. The door opened on its own, and she walked in, finding him relaxing on his bed.

"Was there something you needed?"

"I'm rather conflicted about something, and wanted your advice about it."

"What is it?"

"It's about Kiritsugu…I never knew him until now, but I know that my other self was summoned by him in the past, and did not get along with him. Yet from what I know of him, he was a good person, and I feel bad about him being defeated. What should I do?"

"This is a problem that I cannot help with. It sounds to me like guilt. Even though you weren't summoned by him, since another you was, you somewhat feel responsible for his behavior and for his defeat. That's something you have to come to terms with on your own. And remember that they're in the Throne now."

"...You're right. Thank you." She bowed before leaving.

 **X**

"Look at this place…" Jeanne gasped.

"Yeah, it used to be part of the Roman Empire a long time ago, and all sorts of bathing buildings were built here by Nero, thus why it's called Bath."

"It's become quite a city, hasn't it?" Nero smirked. "Though not quite as breathtaking as Rome."

"No, it is really nice. This place is the epicenter of Somerset County, so we'll be staying here this time. But no using the baths until after we've found and defeated the servants, got it?"

"Yes." All of them answered save for Nero, who seemed disappointed.

"Nero."

"Yes, Master…" she grumbled.

"Good." They pulled up to the Apex City of Bath Hotel, where they were staying.

"Don't get too comfy yet, we'll be going to where Jeanne detects them." They went in and went up to their rooms, standing outside the room.

"We'll be split between two rooms. They both have a King Bed and two singles in them. You three can stay with me." He looked at Nero, Nightingale, and Jeanne. They nodded, and went inside, Altera, Kato, and Musashi going in the other room. After putting their things down, Hayashi went over to Jeanne.

"I want you to try and find the servants."

"Yes, of course." She sat down on the bed and closed her eyes, concentrating. Hayashi went back into the other room, sitting on the bed with Florence.

"Have you ever been here before?" he asked.

"A few times, but I was never able to enjoy the amenities."

"Well once we do defeat these servants, we could go and soak in the baths." He suggested.

"Are you sure we'll have time, Master?"

"Yeah, of course. Besides, it will be good for us, hot springs are known to do wonders for magic power."

"Very well. Although you just want to see me in a swimsuit, don't you?" she asked, smirking a bit.

"Can you blame me?" He stood up and went over to the window, drawing the curtains back and allowing light to flow in.

"Hayashi, while we're here did you want to…" Nero walked in from the other room and closed the door, preparing to take her clothes off, before seeing Nightingale and deciding to keep them on.

"Oh...I didn't know you were here, Berserker. Forget you saw anything."

"Oh, I already know that you two have had intercourse." She said nonchalantly.

"Eh?! You do?! How?!" Nero asked, becoming a bit flustered.

"You talk in your sleep." she said, just embarrassing her more.

"Nero, there's something we should tell you." Hayashi turned to her with a serious look on his face.

"We've...done it too." There was a pause before she shrunk back a bit.

"Y-You have? What is it, that I'm not attractive enough for you?"

"Oh god, Nero, no, that's not it at all. It's just that all of you are special to me in your own ways, and if I can become closer to you, then it's worth it. Are you okay with that?"

"Well...I guess I shouldn't really be one to judge considering my past. You're special to me Master, but I guess that doesn't mean that I should have you all to myself. Alright."

"Thank you." He walked over and hugged her tightly.

"Master, I've located them." Jeanne knocked on the door.

"Alright. Where?"

"About 50 kilometers south of here. There are seven of them in total."

"Nice work. Let's head out right away."

 **X**

Hayashi parked the car nearby the actual site, and proceeded there with the others.

"Master, it doesn't look like there's anything here." Kato pointed out.

"Yeah. But the castle built on this site is long gone. It was a settlement in the 4th millenium BC, then a fort was built that was taken over by the Romans in the early 1st century AD, and then it was an English castle from the 5th century to the 12th century or so. Now it's just an open field." They got to the open field before a spacial change stopped them.

"Another Reality Marble." They walked further in, and suddenly the scenery disappeared and in its place was a medieval castle town with people and shops and all sorts of things.

"Master, where is this place? And how old is it?"

"You've never been here before?" A nearby shop owner overheard them. "Welcome to Camelot then!" he greeted.

"Thank you." Hayashi acknowledged then turned back to them. "If this is Camelot, then this should be the early 500s AD."

"And if this is Camelot, then it should be a given that the servants will be from Arthurian legends." Florence looked up at him.

"Right. But all of the Knights of the Round Table wielded swords or bows, and we've already fought the Master Saber and Archer, Charlemagne and Tesla. So our opponent is probably of a different class. In any case, I guess we should get an audience with the king." They continued through the city, going upwards before coming to the front entrance.

"Halt! State your business!" The guards stepped in front of the entryway and tapped their spears on the ground.

"We would...like an audience with the king." Hayashi said slowly.

"Why should you get one? Name yourselves."

"Hayashi Tsukamoto."

"Never heard of you. And what kind of name is that anyway?"

"Kato Danzo."

"Nope."

"Miyamoto Musashi?"

"Who?"

"Florence Nightingale."

"Go back to Florence."

"I'm not from Florence. That's just my name." she told them, shaking her head.

"Doesn't matter. You don't sound important."

"Jeanne d'Arc."

"We don't take kindly to French people."

"Attila."

"Ha! Funny."

"Nero Claudius."

"Been dead for centuries."

"Goddammit! I figured they would have done something to let us in anyways!" Hayashi cursed.

"Master, I believe there is a way I can help." Jeanne said. "I possess the skill Revelation as a Ruler class. Anytime I meet another servant, I am able to discern their true name and abilities right away unless they have them well hidden. I can attempt to project that onto these guards, making them believe we're who we say we are."

"Yeah, try it with Nero. She's their predecessor after all."

"Can't I just use Imperial Privilege?" she interjected.

"No. It's not a skill you can acquire like that." Jeanne responded, using the skill, causing the guard's expressions to change.

"Well, know who we are now?"

"...Help! Attila and Nero are planning to pillage our kingdom!" They both aimed spears at their throats before other guards came along and did the same.

"Oh yeah...I forgot." Hayashi sighed.

"Master, do you want us to use force?" Musashi asked.

"I was hoping to avoid it, but I don't see any other way out of this. And besides, we're going to fight more in the castle anyway."

"Understood. Fifth Form." A light red aura surrounded Musashi as she placed her hand on one of her swords. In the blink of an eye, she cut down every single one and resheathed it, all of them falling to the ground.

"Nice work." Hayashi patted her shoulder, leading the others into the castle. Finding the stairs and going up a few flights, they were able to locate the Throne Room, where a figure occupied the throne, surrounded by five other knights, two on each side and one standing beside the King.

All of them but two wore helmets, making it hard to tell what their true names were yet.

The first knight, on the far left, wore green pants and a green robe with pale metal armor on their feet and over their torso. They had a beige cloak over their armor, and their right arm was made of silver. Of course there was a sword strapped to their side, and instead of a helmet, their cloak's hood covered their face.

The second, the one without a helmet, wore black pants with metal plate armor over them, as well as over his torso. He had a white cape with a grey fur collar, and a sort of combat stick on his waist, looking like it was more for sparring than for real duels. He had long red hair, and kept his eyes closed.

The third knight, now standing to the far right of the king's throne, seemed to be selective as to where he had armor on. He also wore black pants and a black shirt with gold lining, and armor on his feet, going along his right leg only, around his waist, and then his arms, leaving him less protected on his chest. He had a large silver sword strapped onto his waist and wore an elegant blue green and gold cape with a gray fur collar, plus a gray helmet.

The fourth knight, standing directly to the right of the throne, had on armor all over their body, colored in beige and red. A red and beige sword was strapped onto their back, and their helmet seemed to be of a more intimidating model than the others, with horns coming out of it.

The fifth knight, standing beside the king's throne, was also clad in full body armor, but this time a glistening white and gold, plus blue tassels and a blue and gold cape, and a gold sword sheathed to their waist, plus a white helmet.

The final one, the one sitting in the throne, wore full silver armor with a blue waistcloth, a red cape with a white fur collar, and a much larger helmet that resembled a lion, with pale beige fur coming out of it, resembling a mane.

"Where's the seventh one of you?" Hayashi asked, taking notice of the number of servants in front of them.

"He's not the confrontational type." The king answered. "Well now...there are seven of you...and six of us. We are outnumbered…"

"I don't usually fight. I'll stick close to you again Master." Florence held onto his arm.

"So then we are even."

"Allow me to fight the Archer, Master." Kato said, jumping out of the window with the red-haired archer following.

"Give me the Red Saber." The one with the teal and black color scheme said, as those two went off as well.

"You." Altera pointed her blade at the horned Saber.

"Heh. Your funeral!" They left as well.

"Then allow me to fight him." Musashi looked over at the silver-armed knight, who nodded.

Hayashi looked over at the white armored knight, who walked forward.

"Master, you wish for me to fight the king?" Jeanne asked, a bit nervously.

"No. You're coming with us." He began to run out of the castle, Florence and Jeanne both following him, and the white knight in pursuit.

 **X**

The knight with the silver arm and Musashi landed on the top of a tower, having an arena style one-on-one fight.

"So then...I assume that you are one of these Knights of the Round Table?"

"Your tone makes you sound uncertain. Are you not from around here?"

"No. I am from a land far from here."

"I see. Then you do not know the true strength of the Knights of Camelot." He took off his hood.

"My true name is Bedivere, Saber Class. First Knight of the Round Table and Steward to King Arthur." His hair was silver, and braided in the back, ending in covered twintails, a hairstyle similar to Nero's, but outdated for men.

"My name Musashi. Miyamoto Musashi is what I'm known as."

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of you."

"It's understandable, considering our places of origin. Now then, we should get down to business rather than standing around getting to know each other."

"Very well." He unsheathed his sword and dashed towards her, thrusting multiple times. However, she dodged all of them easily.

"Hm. Your western style of swordsmanship seems to be rather different compared to mine. Dare I even say sloppy?" she teased, pulling out two swords, a katana and a wakizashi. She ran around to his other side and slashed him twice, making sizeable marks in his armor, then kicking him in the thigh, making him fall to the ground, where she jumped up and slashed both swords in an x-shape, sending two purple waves of energy falling towards him. He rolled backwards to avoid it, standing up again and putting more power into his sword, making it begin to glow silver.

"I've never seen your style of swordsmanship, either...tell me, does it have a name?"

"It's called Niten, Ichiryu."

"Hm...I see...it seems that our teachings differ greatly, but I am not about to give up here! For my King!" The silver gleam grew stronger and brighter, and his speed increased. His arm and sword seemed to merge together, and become a long beam of energy. Dashing towards her again, he slashed diagonally, making Musashi have to duck, seeing his attack cut through part of the castle.

'He's not playing around anymore...I would have been seriously hurt if I got hit by that…' She stood up slowly and sheathed both of her swords.

'She's about to do something big...I need to stop her now.' He gathered more power from his arm, running towards her again.

"My power is all for your sake. Devour my soul and take flight! Silver meteor! Dead-end...Airgetlám!" His energy sword prepared to cut her in half as he slashed towards her, but his attack did nothing as it passed by another figure standing over her.

"What...is that?" He stepped back slowly.

"I'll show you the true essence of the Five Rings! I place my trust in Tenjin of the Tenman Shrine, Deity of Absolute Freedom." The scene changed, as the cosmos began to surround them. Behind Musashi, a large figure resembling an Oni but with a dharma wheel behind it, stood, wielding four large swords in its four hands.

"Nioh Kurikara, Shotenshō!" The beast swung each of its swords one after the other, inflicting massive damage to both Bedivere and the castle they were on.

Slowly getting to his knees and stuck in a pile of rubble, Bedivere looked up at her in awe, seeing that her attack wasn't finished yet.

A gust of wind surrounded her, and her sword shot a giant energy blast into the sky, now turned into a purple energy blade.

"Let's go, Master's blade draw...Ishana Daitenshō!" She launched her sword towards him, a massive energy blast shooting towards him and obliterating the castle.

"Forgive me, my king…" He closed his eyes as he was incinerated by the blast, going back to the Throne.

"That was easier than i thought it would be." Musashi sighed, beginning to head back towards the castle.

"Master's lucky he summoned me if he was going for a Japanese combat type." she giggled.

 **X**

The red haired archer and Kato landed on the roof of a lower level of the castle and took out his bow, which was a glistening white and oddly had three drawstrings.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Archer Class, Tristan. Or you may know me as Tristram. I am a Knight of the Round Table."

"I do not know you at all. I'm afraid my home is far from here. My country did not become very familiar with western legends until long after your time."

"I see. That I would not be familiar with you either, would I?"

"No. My name is Kato Danzo, Assassin Class."

"I see. So then you chose to fight me so some of your allies wouldn't have the class disadvantage."

"Yes." She wasted no time in attacking, rotating her arms and shooting bullets out of her fingertips.

Tristram didn't seem to be fazed at all. He strummed his bow, giving off a harp-like sound as all of the bullets were suddenly blown out of the sky.

"What...just happened? What did you do?" she asked, surprised.

"I shot all of your bullets out of the sky of course." He strummed his bow twice more, making multiple columns of pressurized air hit her, knocking her down.

'The arrows are made of wind…?' She slowly got up and created the cannon on her back, shooting rockets out of it that dealt significant damage to the castle, forcing Tristan to have to move.

'If I want to land a hit, I'm going to have to fight him in close combat.' She began dashing after him, using the wheels built into her heels, and jumping when needed to. Before long, she caught up to him, falling towards him, her arm blades extended. He sidestepped, avoiding it, putting his bow onto his back and grabbing his blade, beginning to fight her with it. Of course, being a longer blade than her own, and also a Knight of the Round Table, he had the edge, putting her on the defensive. She backflipped a few times, gaining some distance.

"True Name release, on standby. Wind gather...Kashin Mystic Code activate! Mechanical Illusionary Art- Bull Swallowing!" She used her first Noble Phantasm, trying to suck him into her compression cyclone. Resheathing his sword, he grabbed his bow again, and a blue aura began to surround him, aiming for her through the center of the attack.

"This will be quick. Singing of pain, playing laments. Failnaught." He pulled the strings back and began firing rapid arrows, all of which aimed straight for Kato, who gave up her attack and jumped into the air, attempting to avoid the shots, now that they were visible. However, she was unsuccessful, being sliced up by some of them. Tristan opened his eyes at last, showing a hazy yellow color, and launched one final giant arrow, that burst out of the bow and impaled Kato, sending her crashing down into another building. Relaxing again, he hopped over to the wreckage and sensed that she was no longer moving.

"I suppose it's my win." She quickly shot bullets up at him, landing in the chest multiple times, making him stumble backwards.

"Guh…!" His eyes widened as he looked to the side, finding Musashi standing there with her blade drawn and glowing purple.

"Ishana Daitenshō!" Her blade came crashing down and vaporized him, sending him back to the Throne. Musashi jumped down and picked Kato up.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes...I'll need Master to heal me though…" she coughed.

"Let's get back to him, then." The two jumped off towards the castle.

 **X**

Nero and her opponent landed in an open field just outside of the town.

"Are you going to remove your helmet?" she asked, summoning her sword. He did so, revealing that he had wavy blonde hair and light green eyes. Nero blushed for a quick moment, taking in his handsomeness.

"My true name is Gawain, the White Knight of the Round Table." He unsheathed his own sword, a large silver weapon with a faint bluish glow to it.

"So then, what is yours, fair maiden?"

"Nero Claudius."

"Ah. Our predecessor. Though also an inadequate ruler."

"Who are you calling inadequate?" she growled.

"Surely you must remember everything that transpired during your rule?"

"Of course I do. That doesn't mean I wasn't fit to rule Rome."

"Hm. A naive way to look at it."

"And what about your king? As I've heard, King Arthur brought about the ruin of Britain. Unlike Rome, where many other emperors came after me for the next four centuries."

"And yet the Roman Empire split in two, and half of it collapsed in less than a century, largely by the hands of one of your teammates."

"She's not like you think. You Knights of the Round Table are rather thick-headed, aren't you?" she muttered.

"I don't want to hear that from you of all people. I can't wait to cut you down and attain justice for those Roman lives that you messed with."

"Enough!" She grabbed her sword, ignited it, and dashed towards him, clashing against his own blade.

"Heh." he blocked it, the fire not affecting him at all.

"What…?!"

"Your flames aren't hot enough to hurt me." He grinned, knocking her away with a swing of his sword.

"Do you have a technique similar to mine?" she asked, summoning flames again.

"It is not a technique, it is the sword itself." He dashed towards her, flames covering his own blade now.

The two of them continued to cross blades, blocking each others' attacks and dodging others, not managing to land a hit on either side.

"Thrice-Setting Sun!" Nero used one of her skills to increase her power, landing a few blows against him, but not easily, hitting something hard.

"You're wearing armor under all that!"

"I am a knight, of course I am." He smirked.

"Then I'll just have to try harder." She plunged her sword into the ground.

"Aestus Domus Aurea!" Her theatre appeared, making Gawain feel weaker, and her stronger.

"This is my space. Everything here revolves around me, so I can do anything. And the longer we take to fight, the stronger I become. Try stopping me this time! Laus Saint Claudius!" The flames on her sword grew larger, and she dashed towards him, slicing across his chest, knocking him back against the floor.

"And this one! Fax Caelestis!" As he slowly got up again, she slashed at him while running past, then placing her sword onto the ground, a pillar of flames engulfing Gawain.

"Umu! I won after all!" But as soon as she turned around, she got slammed into the wall with such force that the wind was knocked out of her and her reality marble dispersed.

"Apologies for having to get a bit rough with you." He stepped up to her, the clothes on his upper body burned off, leaving upper body armor and a single green cape around his neck.

"I have a rather unique skill. It's called Numeral of the Saint, and for either the three hours from 9AM to midday, or from 3PM to 6PM, my power is increased three fold, due to the belief that the numeral three was the sacred number of the celtic gods. Do you see the sundial over there? It's currently 3."

"But...if I use Domus Aurea again…" she coughed.

"Well, I'm not going to give you that chance. My sword is the embodiment of the sun. Allow me to show you what true fire power is."

He tossed his sword up into the air while a large orange magic circle in the shape of a sun appeared under him.

"My holy sword is the embodiment of the sun. Under the king's command, I will burn all on the surface to the ground. The blade of this holy sword is a copy of the sun itself. Holy sword of the stars, swing once again! Excalibur Galatine!" He caught the sword and spun around once before slashing to the side, the blade releasing a large wave of fire that set the whole area ablaze and created a large burst of them when it reached Nero, consuming her. Gawain watched as his technique seemingly killed her. As he began to walk away, however, it was her turn to stand up.

"Where do you think...you're going…?" she chuckled weakly.

"You're still alive?!"

"I can't die until I see my master's goal achieved…" She patted down the last flame on her, now wearing nothing but her red bra and matching panties.

"Oh, come on, have some decency…" Saber looked away.

"You're the one who did this!" She yelled back, before creating another dress. Her sword transformed into its silver form, and her new reality marble activated, with her standing on top of it.

"Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theatre rises from within the sea-Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the Illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theatre! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!"

"Excalibur Galatine!" He tried to counter it, but her theatre fired too many attacks at him that he was overwhelmed anyway, and destroyed.

"Sorry I had to get a bit rough." She used his own line against him as he disappeared.

 **X**

Altera and the horned knight landed in the town's arena, opposite each other.

"So you had combat tournaments as well." She looked around at the arena.

"Yes. You are Attila, right? You must have fought all the time then."

"Yes. And you are? You sound female, unlike most of the others.

"Do not refer to me as a female again, or I will cut you down without hesitation."

"I'd like to see you try. What is your true name?"

"You'll have to beat it out of me." She gripped her sword tightly, dashing towards Altera, who took a step back, preparing herself for the assault. She grabbed her own sword and clashed with her, pushing her back.

"What…?!" The knight got knocked away against the wall.

'She's strong enough to do that to me…?!' She threw her sword at Altera this time, surprising her, but still getting blocked by her own blade. The knight grabbed it and kneed Altera in the stomach, sending her back against the wall.

The white saber dusted herself off, holding her sword up to the sky as it began to glow.

"Let's see how you do with projectiles." She swung the sword downwards, multiple star-like energy bullets flying towards her. Though the knight tried to block them, they went right through her sword and knocked her back, dealing heavy damage even through her armor.

"Hrgggh, that's it!" Her helmet divided into pieces and removed itself, attaching itself to the rest of her armor.

"I'm not going to stand for this! Try taking my Noble Phantasm!" Her blade's sides retracted a bit, and it generated a giant pillar of red lightning.

"Time to kill! This is the cursed sword that destroyed my father! Clarent Blood Arthur!" She swung it downwards, releasing a huge blast of red energy and lightning towards Altera, while laughing.

"Since you're not familiar with us, I'll just tell you who I am! Saber class, Mordred! I'm known as the Knight of Treachery, the one who brought about the ruin of Camelot!" she grinned.

"I will destroy the target. I won't take life. Only destroy your civilization. Photon Ray!" She activated her first form of her Noble Phantasm, the blue and purple energy swirling around her and creating a drill. She launched herself directly into the blast, continuing straight through it.

"WHAT?!" She held her blade in front of her, as her opponent crashed through her Noble Phantasm with great ease and collided with her, pinning her to the wall.

'She's making me...tremble…' Mordred tried to calm herself, looking into the red hollow eyes of the other saber she was fighting.

"If you're wondering how this is possible, it's simply because I'm stronger than you. I am the strongest Saber." She turned around and began walking away.

"How dare you….! I am among the best of the Knights of the Round Table! Don't you dare turn your back to me!" She charged up red lightning on her blade again, while Altera flipped her sword around and shot her red beam into the sky above her.

"Clarent…"

"Teardrop Photon Ray." Before Mordred could utter another word, a giant pillar of blue energy came down and annihilated her, leaving Altera the victor yet again.

"Master is...that way?" She looked off towards one of the forests. "I should go help him." She began walking towards it.

 **X**

Hayashi, Jeanne, Florence, and the final knight landed in the forest.

"You can take your helmet off. I already know who you are." Hayashi looked at him intently.

"I will not remove it until you state my correct true name."

"Lancelot." He was startled for a moment before slowly removing it, having a stern but handsome face and short spiky purple hair.

"How did you know?" He asked slowly.

"You were the one standing closest to the king. I didn't choose you by accident. I wanted to ask you a few things."

He raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Thirteen years ago, you were summoned as a Berserker Class servant by the now deceased mage Kariya Matou. You fought against Artoria as a Saber, and killed people as well, before falling to her blade. Do you remember that?"

"Me? A Berserker? And 13 years ago? That's preposterous."

"So you don't."

"Why on earth would I become a Berserker?"

Hayashi's eyes widened.

"You...seriously don't know? About what you did when you were alive? With Guinevere, and the other knights?"

"Stop spouting nonsense."

"Jeanne." Hayashi turned to her. "Does he have any kind of Mad Enhancement right now?"

"No, not from what I can tell."

"Have you ever seen him on the Throne before?"

"No, I've never crossed paths with him before now."

"I wonder then...if he's like you and Alter, except not quite? Maybe he can only be one or the other at one time, and this one is at the height of his legend before he started having his affair…"

"I'm not sure...but I can tell you for sure that he has a very pure aura, there's no hint of Berserker-like skills on him."

"Alright then. Forget what I said before. But I'm not going to leave you alone, we have to fight, because I have to fight your king."

"You will not lay a hand on him!" Lancelot came after him, swinging his sword at Hayashi, Jeanne blocking it with her flag.

"Move, fair maiden! It is not you I wish to duel!"

"I will not let you harm my Master! So you are going to duel me whether you want to or not!" She yelled, pushing him back.

Hayashi turned to the side as Musashi and Kato landed next to him.

"Good timing. I want one of your swords."

"You're going to fight him?"

"Yes."

"Umm...here. Have this one." She took one of them off of her belt and handed it to him, who unsheathed it.

"Master, are you sure you're up for this? I assume you've trained with swords, but that guy is a knight from a legend…" Musashi said worriedly.

"Oh, that's right. You don't know about my powers yet, do you?" His eyes turned red and he jumped towards Lancelot, kicking him back against a tree.

"Master, be careful!" Jeanne called out.

"I'll make you remember, Lancelot! It's part of your legend, you can't just forget because of the Grail's magic!" He clashed swords with him before jumping up and kicking him in the face.

"Hrggh...you have a different fighting style...and you lie! Nothing like that ever happened!" He swung his sword multiple times, Hayashi side-stepping to dodge them before punching his armor, putting some distance between the two again.

"Once Tristan left, you wanted to help lessen the king's burden. And so you began to talk to Guinevere, and before long, you learned that Arthur was actually Artoria, a woman, and that their marriage was purely political. And before long, the two of you fell in love."

"Be quiet! You lie!"

"Master, you might be pushing him too far…" Jeanne muttered.

"He needs this." He turned back to Lancelot. "After a few years, a few people began to catch wind of what you two were doing, and Agravaine released the information to the public. The queen was sentenced to death, and so you went against the law and fought several of the other knights, killing them, mainly Gareth and Gaheris. You saved her, but you fled back to France, and she remained here, confined to the castle. Artoria tried to hunt you down, but was unsuccessful, and while she was gone, Mordred took over the kingdom. When she returned, the kingdom was in a state of civil unrest, and Mordred refused to give the throne back, and so the remaining knights fought against her and her armies, and both sides were killed off, along with both Artoria and Mordred. And so you sank into despair and madness, knowing that you were the trigger for the end of the Arthurian legends."

"Oath to my king! Reaching the very end, beyond the boundaries. King on the other side, look at this light! Arondight- Overload!"

His sword radiated blue light and he dashed at Hayashi, slicing downwards.

"No, Master!" Altera jumped in front of him and blocked the strike, even though her sword was split in half. She then kicked him away.

"Thanks." he told her.

"Of course." She reformed her blade using her Civilization Erasure skill.

"Ughh….no...not...like that…." Lancelot dropped his sword and began to grab his head furiously, swinging around like he was insane.

"He's remembering...he'll turn into a Berserker before long."

"No...Gawain...Guinevere...Arthur…" His armor changed color to a dark purple, and his cape fell off as his tassels began to wear out and droop, ragged. He growled as his sword, formerly gold and brilliant, changed to a dark and murky grey, and his face became more disheveled. His hair grew out to his back and also became frizzy and untidy, and his eyes became crazed as a new helmet appeared in his hand. He put it on, and the visor of it turned red, and a black miasma surrounded him.

"ARRRRRTHUUUUURRRRR!" He roared, sending a shockwave out from him.

"Master, this is why I warned you." Jeanne sighed.

"Jeanne, trust me, I'm familiar with his fighting patterns." He yelled again, gripping his sword and dashing after Altera.

"Oh...shit." She dodged him and began to clash blades, seemingly even.

"I'm sorry, would you like to repeat that?" she mocked.

"He has a vendetta against Artoria, he should be going after her!"

"Master, he's a Berserker, and he has no master to keep him in check! This wasn't a good idea!" she yelled.

"Stop complaining and start getting ready to fight him." They all prepared themselves, but Altera seemed to be pushing him back anyways.

"Here, Musashi." Hayashi handed the sword back to her.

"Try using all of your Noble Phantasms against him!"

"Very well. Ishana Daitensho!"

"Photon Ray!"

"Mechanical Illusionary Art: Bull Swallowing!"

"La Grondement Du Haine!" Jeanne had swapped to her Alter form.

Despite all of their attacks flying at him, Lancelot dashed through all of them in a blink of an eye, and ran past everyone, leaping up onto the castle and breaking through the window.

"Haha...so he went there after all." Hayashi sighed in relief, everyone calming down again.

"ARTHUR!"

The king looked up from her throne, seeing Lancelot fall towards her. She stood up and prepared her lance.

"Name yourself!" He roared again, swinging his sword overhead and clashing with her lance. He managed to knock it aside, kick her back, and slice her helmet in half, revealing her face, with serious teal eyes, and long blonde hair, tied up into a braided bun, and with two long tails on her sides, resting on her shoulders.

He held his sword up as black light enveloped it.

"Aron...dight...Over….load…!" He ran towards her, preparing to unleash the built-up energy against her.

"Rhongomyniad…!" She gasped, holding up her lance in defense as it began to glow golden. Hayashi and the rest of the group arrived in the room again, Nero now joined with them.

When the explosion died down, her chest armor had been blown away, and she was slightly injured, wearing a dark blue cloth armor which left the tops of her huge breasts uncovered, and still had the red and white fur cape draped over her shoulders.

"Sir Lancelot...what has happened to you?" she panted. He did nothing but growl and begin to go after her again, before finding himself trapped in a strong cage of lightning. Despite his slashing at the bars, his sword was stopped, and he was electrocuted.

"Sorry, Lancelot, but like this, you're too dangerous. I have to send you back to the Throne." A man spoke, slowly walking down stairs behind the throne. Lancelot began to be covered in gold particles before his helmet shattered, and his face was restored to normal, his body disappearing and being sent away, and the cage dispersed.

"I'm sorry about that, Artoria. I didn't expect him to turn into a Berserker."

"It's alright…" She relaxed again.

"Now then, Hayashi Tsukamoto. I am the Master Caster that you've been chasing around. My name is Merlin, the Mage of Flowers." He bowed.

He wore black pants and black shoes, with a gold star shaped pattern at the ends of the pant legs. He seemed to have some kind of black shirt on underneath, but it was hard to tell since he wore a large white robe over his whole upper body, with a blue sash around his neck, plus a flower necklace. He had medium length messy white hair, and wielded a large staff, with light blue and pink ribbons wrapped around it.

"That makes sense. So then, why don't you tell me why someone like you agreed to follow Angra Mainyu."

"What a strange question. He is the one who summoned me, why shouldn't I listen to him?"

"Not all servants need to listen to their masters. He and I are a prime example of that. You're reputed to be a wise wizard, don't you know what he's planning?"

"Actually, I don't. Most of the Master Servants are just told the same thing: to introduce the world to magecraft so that it can grow and mature, and to bring you to him so that he can do that. But there is something else that he's working on, as it seems."

"And what's that?"

"As I said, I do not know. It is a secret project of his, and only his four most trusted servants know about it besides himself."

"And you can't find out about it?"

"Well, I could of course...but those servants are far stronger than I, and would find out as soon as I tried. The project leader is especially cautious and aware of others."

"Well then...if you truly don't know anything, then it means we can get right to beating you without having to extract information." They all stepped forward, ready to fight.

"I hope you don't mind me using this?" He summoned a gold and blue sword, and looked at her questioningly.

"I have no objection." She picked up her lance.

"Are you all ready?" Hayashi asked.

"Yes!" They all answered.

"Florence, I may need you to use your Noble Phantasm this time."

"Understood." Nero and Altera went first, beginning to attack Artoria with all of their might, but she was able to hold them off due to the size and weight of her lance, overcoming the other weapons. Merlin turned the sword upside down and thrust it towards the ground, creating a large blue energy shockwave that rushed towards the others.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" Jeanne jumped in front of them, blocking the attack. Kato activated her canon on her back, firing a rocket towards Merlin, who created a shield and blocked it.

Kato and Musashi ran towards him, and Hayashi went towards Artoria, followed by Florence.

"Master, should we use our Noble Phantasms yet?!" Nero asked.

"I'll leave that judgement to you!" He activated his powers and clashed with her lance before sweeping her feet out from under her and kicking her in the face.

"Get her now!"

"Aestus Domus Aurea! Laus Saint Claudius!"

"Photon Ray!" They both used their powers against Artoria, who unleashed her magic power in the form of a golden energy burst, grabbing her lance again.

"Rhongomyniad!" She released a large beam of energy that sent the two sabers flying backwards, unable to complete their Noble Phantasm use.

"This is going to be tougher than I thought, Master." Altera glanced at him.

"We should have known she wasn't easy to beat. But she's somewhat weakened from fighting Lancelot, so we should use this opportunity."

"Yes, of course."

"Fax Caelestis!"

"Teardrop Photon Ray!" They used their evolved forms, Nero dashing towards her again and clashing before getting knocked away, and Altera's light pillar falling through the roof and engulfing her. When the light went away, she was still standing, with more serious injuries, but still ready for a fight.

"Hm. She's the first one to survive that attack since Nezha." Altera chuckled.

"Master!" Kato and Musashi prepared to run over to the others as Artoria gripped her lance harder.

"Ah ah, don't forget who you're fighting." Merlin reminded them, pulling the sword back to his side.

"Holy Lance, removing restraints!"

"Let's put an end to this."

"Releasing light from the end of the world...That which pierces the sky and connects with the earth! Anchor of the storm!"

"The breath of the planet gathers. The torrent of life shines. Take this!"

"Rhongomyniad!"

"Excalibur!"

Both released massive beams of light from their weapons, and Hayashi's team, unable to block them, were propelled out of the castle, back out into the city, collapsing near each other.

"You may leave the rest to me." Artoria nodded at him, walking off out of the castle.

"Dun Stallion." She whistled, and her white horse, covered in silver armor and a blue cover came running, and she mounted it, taking the reins with her free hand.

"This time, I'm going to use my lance at full power to finish you all of in one attack! Holy lance, anchor! Let light be released from the Ends of the World. It shall split the heavens, and connect the land. Anchor of the Storm!" Her horse jumped into the air, galloping further into the sky, then starting to come down towards them, their bodies becoming a spear of light in itself.

"We have to use all of our strongest Noble Phantasms against it!" Hayashi ordered, getting up.

"Yes!" they all nodded.

"Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theatre rises from within the sea-Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theatre! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!"

"True name release, on standby. Wind gather...Kashin Mystic Code activate! Mechanical Illusionary Art- Bull Swallowing! Evil Wind Death Storm!"

"I'll show you the true essence of the Five Rings! I place my trust in Tenjin of the Tenman Shrine, Deity of Absolute Freedom. Let's go, master's blade draw...Ishana Daitenshou!"

"All evil is here. The time for revenge has come! This is the roar of my soul that was polished by hatred...La Grondement Du Haine!"

"I will destroy the target. I won't take life. Only destroy your civilization. Photon Ray!" All of their combined attacks matched with Rhongomyniad, both sides trying to push the other away.

"Florence, now!"

"Yes! Treatment start. I will abstain from everything that is harmful and everything that is poisonous. I will stop them with all my strength and guide everybody to happiness! Nightingale Pledge!" Her giant nurse manifestation's sword swung down on Artoria, undoing Rhongomyniad, and making her get hit by all of the attacks at once, easily defeating her and sending her back to the Throne.

When everything cleared, most of them were exhausted.

"Don't worry, I'll heal all of you." Nightingale turned to them before finding herself in a sphere of light this time, yelping out as she was brought back inside of the castle. The others got up and ran inside after her.

"When fighting, it's smartest to remove the healer of the group first." Merlin smirked as she was placed floating next to him on the throne.

"As for the rest of you, I'll take you on." He smiled, holding his staff up as it began to light up with blue light. A purple shimmering aura surrounded him as he closed his eyes began to chant.

"Let me tell you the story of a king. The inner sea of the planet. The platform of the watchtower. From the edge of paradise, you shall hear my words. Your story shall be full of blessings. Let only those without sin pass. Garden of Avalon!" The scenery changed, and a field of lavenders surrounded them for miles, with a single tall tower stemming up from the middle of the meadow.

"This Noble Phantasm is a manifestation of where I live. And while it's active, nothing bad can happen to me. Any damage you inflict will heal."

'Like me.' Hayashi's eyes narrowed.

"Finish him now." He looked at the others.

"Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" Nero went first, summoning her giant theatre and shooting a flurry of purple energy beams at him. Merlin summoned an equal amount of blue energy balls that cancelled out all of hers. The top of his staff then released a large blue beam of light that blew Nero back, and another magic sphere surrounded her as he brought her over to his side as well.

"Damn it!" She summoned her sword but her slash didn't do anything to her prison.

"I'm afraid it's impossible to break out of those." Just as he finished that sentence, Kato appeared behind him, slashin with her arm blades, but he dodged it.

"I saw that coming. I have Clairvoyance after all." He touched her, and she was imprisoned as well.

"Clairvoyance is a typical skill for the Archer class, and present for high level casters like myself. I have the ability to look upon the future and see what will happen, to an extent. It is not as prominent as Solomon's, but it is useful."

'Solomon?' Hayashi asked himself.

"Tell me what you know about their plans."

"Oh, not back to this again. I already told you I don't know anything."

"No? Then who's Solomon?"

"Ah, a slip of the tongue. He's one of the other servants we have."

"You said that the project leader is especially cautious, and so what if they have strong Clairvoyance? That would explain things, wouldn't it?"

"I've already said too much."

"...Musashi, instead of fighting him, try to destroy the tower. I have a plan."

"Alright. Ishana Daitenshou!" Her blade released a pillar of purple light, and she aimed it at the tower. Merlin quickly put up a barrier around the tower, and Hayashi took the opportunity to run up to him and throw a few blows.

He gasped and blocked the hits, causing him to lose focus on the barrier and release it. Musashi's attack blew away the foundation, making the rest of the tower collapse and the vision go away, bringing them back into the castle.

Merlin, now aggravated, summoned Excalibur again and slashed Hayashi across the waist, making him jump back.

"Master, we can hurt him now, right?" Altera asked.

"Yeah, we can...give me some time to heal, use everything you have."

"Nioh Kurikara, Shotenshou!" Musashi summoned her giant oni, and it swung its four blades towards Merlin.

"Excalibur!" He countered with a swing of the holy sword, releasing a blast of golden light that swept Musashi off of her feet and destroyed her Noble Phantasm.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" Jeanne stepped in front of Hayashi and protected him from the beam.

Altera jumped up to the ceiling and cut through the roof with her sword. Landing again, she drew a circle with it, and started to chant.

"Dance through the sky, and annihilate any trace left of my enemy. I am the one who commands you, and you are the one who obeys. Star Photon Ray!" Multiple colored orbs of light flew down from the sky and into the castle, flying towards Caster.

"Illusion." Merlin made a shield around himself, which was blown away by a huge explosion of the stars, but he was left unharmed.

"Master, nothing's working!" Jeanne turned to him.

"Verg Avesta!" Summoning red lightning around his hand, he plunged it into his chest, making Merlin gasp and fall over.

"MASTER! I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT!" Florence cried out, the others all in shock.

"What do you...think you're doing…?" Merlin coughed out.

"Taking you out…" Hayashi sputtered as his wound slowly closed from his powers. The spheres disappeared and Nero, Florence, and Kato were freed.

Hayashi walked over to him and picked up Excalibur, holding it over him.

"It's nothing personal, you seem like a good guy. But you were summoned to the side that I'm not on. Sorry." He lowered it and stabbed his heart, sending both him and the sword back to the Throne.

"Master…" Hayashi turned to see Florence standing in front of him.

"Yeah-?" He was cut off as she punched him forcefully in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Berserker, what are you doing?!" Jeanne asked.

"I told you not to use that technique, Master! It destroys your body more and more each time! Why don't you listen to me?!"

"You said to use it sparingly, not 'don't use it at all.'"

"It doesn't matter what I said! The more you hurt yourself and heal rapidly, the more you shorten your lifespan! Don't you care about what happens to you?" She asked in a softer tone.

"...No. I really don't." He slowly got up, and the Camelot reality marble faded away, putting them back in the middle of the field. He looked out into the distance.

"I've grown tired of this life...my life. At this point, I don't care how hurt I get. The sooner the end comes, the better."

"Master, you can't mean that. Look at how beautiful this world is." Jeanne stepped forward.

"You're right, the world is beautiful...but the people aren't."

"Hayashi, that's not true. So many people are so understanding." She tried to comfort him.

"I'm out of patience, Jeanne!" he snapped, making her flinch and step back.

"I know that for years now, I've only blamed myself for what happened. For summoning a servant when I didn't need to, and if I hadn't done that, then I wouldn't be in this situation...but there's two sides to every story! I summoned him with the intent to help us accomplish our mission and help save lives! Everything that I did, I had no control over! And after apologizing and explaining and traveling the world, every city and every citizen scorns me and tells me to go kill myself. Because they don't care who was responsible, they only care whose face was behind those killings, and it was mine. The Mage's Association is no better. They blackmailed me into keeping my position. If I disobey them, or leave, then Lorelei can change my file to a rogue agent with the click of a mouse. You are a prime example of hatred too, Jeanne. Your Alter form wouldn't exist if you truly didn't hate the people who condemned you. Admit it, that when you were burned alive, you despised them for betraying you, for spitting out lies about you."

"Hayashi, I…" She looked away.

"Did you know that in 1456, you were exonerated of your crimes? They found you innocent and reversed the charges against you. But that doesn't make a difference now, does it? You'd already been dead for 25 years. And you two." He pointed at Nero and Attila.

"There were plenty of others like you, going around and killing people who got in your way, and becoming tyrants. Genghis Khan conquered half of the world by raping and pillaging. Hitler slaughtered six million jews and started a world war. Stalin and Mao Zedong starved and repressed millions of their own people just to gain political power. Aren't most of you Heroic Spirits supposed to have a tragic end? You all died horribly, right? Are you really telling me that human beings aren't the problem? There are plenty of good people out there, but there are also plenty of idiots, plenty of supremacists, plenty of people like Angra who want to commit mass genocide! And yet he claims that he's doing it to help the world advance more; the sad revelation is that nothing in this world can be achieved without war of some kind. When you were going to build an empire, did people lay down their arms and submit willingly? No, of course not. You may build a great empire like the Romans or the Mongolians or the Spanish or British, but in order to get to that point, you must conquer. To drive England out of France, you fought against them. If you form a group of people who share your ideals, there is an inevitable group of people who don't share them, and you will end up fighting verbally. So why bother with any of this? Do you have an answer?" He looked at them all, but they all looked away and said nothing. Hayashi sighed heavily, looking up.

"Even the Holy Grail Wars are built upon a concept of fighting each other. We masters summon servants like you so that we can fight another person for a prize that won't even grant us happiness. The Holy Grail is not omnipotent. After the defeat of five servants, it becomes blackened, and can destroy an entire city when someone makes their wish. That's what happened with Kiritsugu and Gilgamesh after all…"

"I...still think that life is worth living…" Jeanne sobbed, now crying.

"...I do too, but not here, and not like this. So I came up with an idea. The Emiyas...Shirou, Kiritsugu, and Irisviel...they were all regular people but became Heroic Spirits. If I can form a contract with the Counter Force, and become a heroic spirit, then I'd be happy again. Spending time with all of you has been the only thing that's made me happy in a long time...and I dread you just up and leaving me when we finish. So why not go with you?"

"It's...well, it's possible, but…" Florence thought.

"But…?"

"In order to become a Heroic Spirit without being a legend, myth, or historical hero, you have to do something extraordinary in terms of helping the world."

"So, for instance...stopping Angra Mainyu?"

"Yes, that could certainly work...but Master, you must promise me you won't use Verg Avesta again. If you truly want to become a servant, your body must be in excellent condition, and you must have exemplary strength. Tearing it apart isn't the solution."

"...Alright. I'm sorry for making you cry, Jeanne." He hugged her and she smiled, returning the embrace.

 **X**

Back at their hotel in Bath, everyone was sleeping, Hayashi with Nightingale wrapped around him.

" _Hayashi."_

" _Mmh?"_

" _Wake up." A soothing voice called out to him._

 _He slowly opened his eyes, finding himself on the middle of a room on the floor, with five servants surrounding him._

" _What's going on here? What is this?" He asked, standing up._

" _This is a dream that I created using a power of mine." The voice said again._

 _Standing to his back right was a man about as tall as him, with short spiky black hair, wearing an old fashioned western military uniform with both a rifle and katana strapped in his belt, and a black overcoat._

 _To his back left was a familiar face, Edmond Dantes._

 _To his front right was the man who had the soothing voice. He was a bit shorter than Hayashi, perhaps about 5'10", and wore an ancient white and black robe with red sashes, and had long white hair._

 _To his front left was a servant he was also not familiar with, but based on his clothing and intimidating presence, Hayashi could guess that he was Ramesses himself._

 _And to his very front was Angra, but this time he wasn't smiling._

" _What do you want? And what am I doing here?" he growled._

" _We brought you here to warn you. You took down Merlin, didn't you? If you continue meddling any further, Hayashi, we won't hold back anymore. I can guarantee you that you're not strong enough to take on any of these four, not even with all of your servants."_

" _So then you must be the five servants that Merlin mentioned were involved in that 'secret project'. What is it?"_

" _As if we'd tell you. But know that when we succeed, we will be far stronger than we are now. And we will succeed, no matter what. Goodbye." The dream and the servants faded away, and he returned to consciousness in the real world._

"Is anything wrong?" Florence whispered, now awake and glancing up at him.

"...No. We'll talk about it in the morning. Let's get some sleep for now." He closed his eyes again and she snuggled up next to him.

 **X**

"Master, I heard Merlin was defeated. Is that why we were sent out?" A male asked, standing out in front of his group, looking into the distance where there were beautiful hills and a lake.

"Yes. I'm sure Hayashi Tsukamoto's team will be here within the next few days. And when that happens, we are to greet him with the ferocity and bloodlust we had when we were alive. Ní féidir liom fanacht." (I can't wait) Her red eyes looked up at the moon as she smiled slightly.

 **End.**


	8. Part 2: Belfast

**If anyone's wondering about how much longer the story will go on for, there will be eleven more chapters including this one. This one is the final chapter of part 2, then four chapters for part 3, five chapters for part 4, and one chapter of part 5 that will be considered the epilogue. Also, please read the final notes I'll be putting at the end of the chapter, they're important. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Berserker's Flashback: Tragic (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Japanese Servants Preparations: A-0picturez [second half] (Aldnoah Zero OST)**

 **Arrival in Belfast: Sea Winds and Travelers (Fire Emblem Echoes Shadows of Valentia OST)**

 **Meeting Celtic Servants: A Song For Bygone Days (Fire Emblem Echoes Shadows of Valentia OST)**

 **Altera vs. Fergus: Blazing Guy (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Nero vs. Cu: Blazing Dance (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Jeanne vs. Diarmuid: Gray's Theme (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Diarmuid's Story: Eternal Friends (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Musashi vs. Fionn: Lightning Fire Dragon's Firing Hammer (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Florence vs. Medb: Hangeki no Noroshi (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Hayashi vs. Brynhildr: Rising (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Hayashi's Avenger Powers Awakened: Silver's Raid (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Vs. Scathach: Mystogan's Theme (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Cu Alter: Mard Geer Tartaros The Underworld King (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Vs. Cu Alter: Absolute Demon (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Gate of Skye: Challenge of Mavis (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Scathach's New Contract: A Celtic Lore (Adrian von Ziegler)**

 **New Servant Summoning: Killmonger (Black Panther OST)**

Hayashi slowly awoke, somewhat saddened that Florence wasn't still in bed with him. He could always use a command spell...but that was a stupid reason to use one. He stretched and got up, going into the shower.

"Master! Good morning!" Jeanne knocked on the door.

"Ah, good morning. Where is everyone?" He called out as he turned the shower on.

"They went downstairs for breakfast. I said I'd stay here with you."

"Thanks. We'll be leaving shortly after I get out, so I would start packing."

"Alright." Hayashi thought about that dream he had last night, of the five servants. What could their plan be? Obviously Avenger's goal was to end the world and start again with magecraft. So could the secret project be something to help them achieve that goal? As he got out and dried off, he got changed and came out into the first room of their suite to find Jeanne sitting on the couch, already packed, giving him a thin smile.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"When you met Ramesses...did he mention anything about a project that he was involved in?"

"No…" Her expression changed immediately. "He told me that he was the rightful ruler of this world, but he never mentioned anything about a project…"

"I see. Thanks…" He pondered the idea a bit more, going back into his room and beginning to pack.

"What makes you ask?" She appeared in the doorway, clutching one hand to her chest.

"Last night, I had a dream. Well, it was more like a vision. There were five servants standing around me, including Angra, Ramesses, Edmond, and two others we haven't met yet, and they said that when their plan succeeds, they'll be much stronger than they are now."

"Hmm...when I met King Ozymandias in Rome, he said that he has so far only demonstrated a fifth of his power. I wonder if that has something to do with this plan of theirs?"

"I have no idea. For now, we'll just have to keep fighting servants as we find them, and hope one of them will know something." The others came back in, and they got all of their belongings together, getting back into their car and driving towards London.

 **X**

As Hayashi opened the front door, Archer dragged herself across the floor and grabbed his pants.

"Master...save me…." she gasped.

"What happened?"

"He's been practicing non-stop since you left...I haven't gotten any sleep!" she cried.

"Mozart, let the poor girl get some sleep. We're going to be taking her this time so that she's not bored out of her mind and someone else will look after you."

"Very well, Master. I practiced sufficiently yesterday." He smiled, seemingly pleased with himself. Nobu slunked off to bed, while the others went back to their rooms.

"So, what did you learn?"

"Well, various different compositions from different composers. The nice thing about being a composer as a servant is that my orchestra never gets tired, so I can just keep on rehearsing."

"Don't you ever get tired?"

"Never. We've mastered the works of almost every composer on that list, and I've learned all of the piano pieces as well."

"Wow...you really are a genius…" Hayashi mumbled, before shaking his head. "Anyways, we'll probably have some free time before we find out about more servants, since this past group only took us a day. So you have some more time if you want. But you should take a break for both your sake and the others."

"I understand." He bowed respectfully. Hayashi brought his things back to his room, where Altera was.

"Master, I hope you remembered that it's my turn to stay with you tonight." She gave him an innocent look.

"Hm. I look forward to it. Why don't we go out now and spend some time together? I feel like I'm not as close to you as I am to the others. Let's change that." He smiled at her, and she blushed slightly. Hayashi waited at the front door for her, and after a few minutes, she came in, wearing multi-colored high-heels, ripped jeans, and a beige sweater with black arrows on it.

"Where did you get that outfit?"

"It was one of the ones you bought for me at that store the day we met."

"Ah. You look good." She smiled at him, and the two went out.

"Where do you want to go first? What do you want to do?"

"Well...how about we get something to drink first?"

"Alright. What are your tastes? Coffee, tea, what do you like?"

"I always drank bitter wine when I was alive...so perhaps tea? I only drank it before I partook in duels."

"Well, we'll try that then." They stopped at a nearby cafe, and Hayashi got coffee while he got Altera her tea.

"You said you liked it bitter, so I didn't put anything in it. Here." He handed it to her, and she took a sip.

"Hm. Just the way I like it." She smiled.

"Follow me. I know a place we can talk." He led her into a park, and down to a bridge where no one was around."

"Master, I know that you want to become a Heroic Spirit. How did you come to that decision?"

"It's like I said before, most people in this world recognize me because of my past, and keep their distance because of it. They'll never really forgive me for what I've done, and while I'm considered an asset to the Association, they won't hesitate to send men after me if I stray from their path. And while death is a way out, it's not the way out that I want to take. So luckily, being a Heroic Spirit by making a contract with the Counter Force is a thing. After all, it happened to Artoria, Shirou, and now Kiritsugu and Irisviel."

"Yes."

"What did it feel like for you?"

"Becoming a Heroic Spirit? We don't really feel anything…after we die, if we are deemed worthy of becoming one, our physical bodies are sent to the Root, awaiting a summoning, and our spirits are sent to the Throne of Heroes, where we can interact with other servants and live out our lives until we're summoned, which could mean that we could either become friends with them, or fight with them, using our full abilities, and without any negative repercussions. Wounds and structural damage is fixed quite easily."

"So...have you ever been summoned before now?"

"We are not given knowledge of previous summons, Grail's rules. So I wouldn't know."

"Do you...remember your time in the Throne?"

"Yes. And unfortunately, the older a heroic spirit you are, the more boring it is to be up there. For Nightingale, who's only been dead for about a century, it's pretty easy to keep yourself busy meeting all of the others as well as getting used to living there. But for servants like myself or the Empress, or ancient heroes like the pharaohs or Gilgamesh, who have been dead for thousands of years, it wears out, just being up there all the time. We're just waiting to get summoned to have a change of routine."

"I see. So what interactions have you had up there?"

"Most servants try to stay away from me, knowing my legend, and not wanting to challenge my strength. In fact, you're the first one that really hasn't been afraid of who I am."

"Well...there's not a lot that can intimidate me anymore. And plus, our relationship. I see you as more than a Servant; you're a close friend." he smiled at her.

"Th-Thank you…" She blushed, smiling as she sipped her tea. "Hayashi."

"Hm?" He looked over, and she planted a kiss on his cheek. Her lips felt a bit dry, but were still soft. She smiled cutely at him as he did the same to her. The two spent the rest of the day out in the city together, doing various activities, such as going out to eat, visiting historical landmarks, and shopping. When it was finally nighttime, they snuck back in the house, and went to his bedroom.

"Master, it's rather humid out, I hope you don't mind if I sleep without clothing tonight?"

"Of course not." He removed his as well, and when he turned to face her, she was stunning. Her breasts were not as big as Nightingale's, Jeanne's, Musashi's or Nero's, but were bigger than Kato's and Nobu's, still at a comfortable C cup. Her tan skin seemed to glisten in the moonlight, along with her silver hair which had grown somewhat longer since she was summoned, now down to just below her shoulders. Her special place was also a bit smaller than the others', probably because her warriors were more responsible for the raping in her legend than she was. The amount of times she had sex was still unknown to him, so perhaps she was a bit tighter than someone like Nero. But the last difference was on the opposite perspective. She had an ass that was almost bigger than any other servant, round, shapely, and inviting.

"Wow…" He breathed, making her blush as both of them went over to the bed.

"Well...goodnight Master." She laid down against the pillow and closed her eyes.

"Yeah…" He couldn't go to bed now. He needed her. He wanted her. He rolled onto his side, on top of her, making her eyes open suddenly.

"Master…? What are you…?"

"Shh…" He held a finger to her lips, silencing her. Next, he gently lowered his lips onto hers, and they both closed their eyes, beginning to struggle for dominance as their tongues tangled together. Her lips still felt a bit rough, but he got over it pretty quickly, starting to caress her breasts, making her moan. She pushed him over, making him fall back against the bed and straddled him, now sitting on top of his crotch.

"Tell me something. All of those rumors about the huns raping and pillaging the settlements you came across. How much of that was your own doing?"

"Plenty. Believe me." She slowly ran her hand down his chest. "Everything happened just as you learned of it. You see, when you're a conqueror, people will do anything to please you if you promise to spare their lives. Despite being a woman, I could force any man to have sex with me, even while his wife and child watch."

"You dirty girl." He tried to get up to kiss her again but she forced him back down.

"Ah ah ah, I'm in charge here."

"I could use a command seal if I wanted to-" She cut him off by holding his arms down.

"Can you?" she smirked.

"Well...I guess not." He grinned back at her. Altera didn't waste any time teasing him, simply sliding her entrance onto his member, and beginning to thrust herself up and down as Hayashi simply laid his head back against the bed and let her do all the work.

"Master, what do you really think of me?" She asked, picking up speed, apparently not fazed by the feel of him fucking her.

"Why makes you ask that?"

"Well...you said before-nngh!" She stopped, moaning a bit, then continuing. "...It's not just you, but every opponent that I've faced so far who is aware of my identity knows that I'm…simply a tyrant. No matter what I did for laying the foundations for future civilizations of Europe and Asia...no one remembers that about us. They remember me as the 'Scourge of God' who burnt villages to the ground and raped the men and women alike. Is that how you see me?"

Altera released her juices on him, and they took a moment before continuing.

"...It's unfortunate, but that's the way the world works. You could do ten good things and one bad thing and people will only remember you for the bad thing. Of course I studied the huns as part of my history classes at the Academy, so I know that you're not as bad as you seem, but I know that you're also responsible for those things. It made me somewhat conflicted upon summoning you. But you've more than proved yourself to be not only a reliable ally and my strongest servant, but also a very close friend and love interest as well."

"I see." She smiled lovingly at him before yelping as Hayashi took the opportunity to tackle her down and turn her over.

"H-Hayashi…" she breathed.

"Sorry. I saw an opening, so I took it. You've been walking around in skimpy outfits since you got here, and I've been tempted by your giant ass since I saw you."

"It...is it really that big…?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah, it is." He started going into her backside, increasing speed, as they both moaned together, their love for each other increasing the further along they got.

"What...do you think of me?"

"I….ooohhh….I see you as a very good master...and we work well together." He was mesmerized by her butt as it wobbled with each push, increasing his speed. She looked back at him, her face in ecstasy as they finished, crying out. Cleaning themselves off in the bathroom, they went and fell back against the bed, and he looked to her again.

"We work well together? How so?"

"Well...you said it yourself after our first battle together; if you summon a heroic spirit without a catalyst, you'll likely summon one that matches your personality. And I don't have many catalysts. There are a few armor pieces out there, but I imagine that they're held in museum collections nowadays. And my personality is, well...in short, I need a master that's okay with killing."

"Hm. Yeah, you probably wouldn't work well with most of the masters who participated in the last war. I guess our personalities do match after all."

"Yes. Thank you for being that way Hayashi." She kissed him goodnight, and they drifted off to sleep.

 **X**

"Good morning." Altera yawned as they awoke the next morning.

"Morning." They got dressed, and went downstairs, beginning to eat breakfast with everyone else.

"Anything yet on new servants, Master?" Nobu asked.

"No." His phone beeped. "...Yes. It looks like...Belfast, Ireland. Must be Celtic heroes this time."

"Oohhh...it'll be just like the old days." Nero said excitedly. Hayashi sighed, looking over to Nobu sadly.

"What is it?"

"Unfortunately, most Irish mythological heroes were spear-wielders, so they'll probably be Lancers. It won't be good matchups for you. So I'll want you to stay here again."

"Master…" she growled.

"I'll make sure someone stays with you to keep you company this time. Kato?"

"Yes, that's fine. Good luck."

"Of course. We'll go when ready. We'll be flying this time, but it will only be a little more than an hour, not that long."

 **X**

"Master, have you ever been to this city before?" Jeanne asked.

"Yes, of course. I spent a good deal of time in Ireland just after I took my leave. I spent about a month in both Dublin and Belfast, so I'm familiar with it. It's a wonderful city." They all got onto the jet that the association had prepared for him, taking off on the runway towards Belfast.

"Hey, Master...what do you know about Celtic myths?" Florence asked.

"Hmm...well, Ireland is an ancient country, and it's where most people consider the Celtic tribes and legends to have originated, alongside Scotland and Britain. Irish myths are supposed to take place around the first century AD, when the first Roman Emperors were in rule. Many of these, such as the Knights of the Red Branch and the Knights of Fianna, became foundations for the Arthurian Legends. Celtic Warriors are said to be some of the fiercest fighters in history."

"I once fought a queen from Britannia and defeated her and her army. What was her name? Started with a B…" Nero thought.

"Boudica?"

"Yes, that's the one. She was strong, but we were stronger." She smiled proudly.

"She was known as the 'Queen of Victory.' But she was a historical figure. The ones that I was talking about are more like...on the level of ancient world servants."

"Then we're in for quite a fight." Altera smiled.

"Yes." Hayashi closed his eyes, the others killing time until their landing. He leaned over and hugged Altera, the two of them falling asleep together.

'Her, too, huh?' Florence glanced at them and smiled, and Nero noticed too. Everyone relaxed, waiting for their arrival.

 **X**

" _...I see. Thank you for telling me. You're dismissed." The man bowed to him, and the commander he told stood up, clearly saddened and angry._

" _What do we do now, Commander? With both Isami and Souji dead, you're the only one capable of leading our forces against the Loyalists."_

" _I know that, Ryojun. I also know that we're fighting a losing battle here."_

" _Sir?"_

" _We have fought for five long years now, but have made no significant progress. In fact, the Loyalists have only become stronger and more supported. Times are changing, and apparently the people believe that it is time for Japan to become an open country again, and forego sakoku."_

" _But then why…? Why bother to continue with this struggle? If you know that it's not going to work in our favor, couldn't you just-?"_

" _I am not going to battle to win. With the Tokugawa government about to collapse, it would be a disgrace if no one is willing to go down with it. That is why I must go. I will fight the best battle of my life to die for the country."_

… _._

" _RRRRRRARAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"_

" _Commander Kiyotaka! That man….that demon….! He won't die! He's taken out hundreds of our men just by himself!"_

" _That is no ordinary man. That is the Shinsengumi's Demonic Vice-Commander. Of course he won't go down that easily. Everyone, focus your attacks on him!"_

 _The remaining troops aimed all of their rifles at the man, firing off many rounds, some of which he avoided, but most of which he got hit by._

" _Done. Die in the name of Emperor Meiji, Toshizo." Kiyotaka smiled._

" _I will not…" he growled._

" _What…?! You're still alive?!"_

" _As long as I am alive….THE SHINSENGUMI STILL EXISTS!" He roared, grabbing a man off of a horse and jumping onto it, taking out his sword, and stampeding towards the commander._

" _Damn you…" He unsheathed his own katana, stepping back nervously._

" _I EMBODY THE WILL OF THE TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE!" He gasped after his last words echoed through the surrounding area, hearing a gunshot as a bullet pierced his lower back, shattering it and making him fall off of the horse, lying on the ground, gripping his sword, and covered in blood and wounds all over his body._

" _...Okita…." His final word escaped his breath, and everything faded to black._

"Hijikata-san?" Her cheery voice broke him out of his memories.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Are you alright? You seemed deep in thought."

"Yeah...just reliving something…"

"I see." She got ready to lie down next to him.

"No, wait. Don't." He got up, putting his coat on. "Gather the others. It's time for us to head out."

"To fight Hayashi? But Lancer already-"

"No, not that. To take back our home." She gulped, nodding with a serious look, running off into one of the other rooms of the Heliopolis Palace that they now occupied, thanks to Rider.

"Are you going?" Angra asked, noticing him check for all of his weapons. He placed a large rifle into his belt holster, a pistol into his vest, and of course his sword, already strapped against his right hip.

"Yes. You don't mind, do you?"

"No. But make sure you're able to come back for when the ritual starts."

"Of course."

"Hijikata-san, we're ready." Okita said, returning with seventeen other servants.

"Hmph. Nineteen of us. Reminds me of the good old days. Alright then, everyone. I know that your histories with our homeland and my own may differ greatly. Some of you are myths from the Classical Period, while some of you are from the Warring States Era, and some of you are my samurai predecessors from Heian. But as long as we're part of this team, you take orders from me, and in order to fulfill our goals, we need to take control of Japan again from the current Imperial Family. Let's go show them that old Japan will always be stronger than the new society they have now. From now on, we nineteen will be known as the New Shinsengumi!" All of them exited the palace, turning into spirit form and heading off towards their home, led by Berserker.

 **X**

"We're here, Master." Florence tapped him awake.

"Oh, good." He stretched as their plane landed, and they all got off, finding themselves amongst the incredible city.

"This place is so amazing, Master! We've never had any place like this during my time." Jeanne looked around at all the buildings, some tall, shiny, and brand new, some old and with beautiful architecture, and some small and cozy places, such as restaurants and taverns.

"Ireland has always been...somewhat disconnected from the world's problems. Of course, they have a long history with England and Scotland, and in most recent years began connecting with many other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa alike. But they've often had a long-standing policy of military neutrality in conflicts that don't directly involve them. They stayed away from World War 2, and haven't had many conflicts in general in their history."

"That's very good." She smiled.

"So...can you sense the servants?"

"No, not yet. And this city is rather small compared to previous ones we've visited...so they must not be in it anymore."

"Then let's start asking around. We'll go to that tavern first." He pointed to a nearby small building, and they walked in, finding it to be very nice and welcoming.

"Well hi there! How 'ya doin'?"

"Good, yourself?"

"Couldn't be better! It's a wonderful day outside! How many will it be?"

"There's six of us."

"Excellent! Sit at the bar or dine-in?"

"We'll do dine-in."

"Then right this way." He brought them to a table and gave them menus.

"Enjoy! By the way, are you guys coming from a history fair or something?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, your friends are dressed rather strangely, after all…"

"Oh...yeah. There's one nearby that we went to. We haven't gotten a chance to change yet."

"Ah, sounds fun! Well, enjoy! A server will be with you shortly."

"Sure. Thanks." As soon as he walked away, Hayashi turned to the others and looked at them disapprovingly.

"You forgot to change." he growled.

"S-Sorry, Master. I guess we were too captivated by the city to remember…" Jeanne muttered.

"Well go do it now while we're here. There's a bathroom over there." They all nodded and went in. When they came out a few minutes later, they were dressed much more modern, and looked cute too.

Nero wore blue and white striped athletic shorts, and a red and white summer top with a loose strap. Altera had on short black shorts and a loose dark blue top, showing her bra straps underneath, and with her hair tied in a side ponytail. Jeanne had on a pink skirt, a white blouse, and a blue vest over it. Florence wore a white blouse with a teal sweater over it, and tan leggings. Musashi had on black tights with tall black boots, a dark blue skirt, and a lace pink top, with a small black purse over her shoulder.

"Much better." Hayashi closed his eyes as they sat down again.

"Master, what are we asking for, exactly? I mean, we don't know who the servants are, or even what they look like." Jeanne asked.

"I've thought about that. Most servants that we've encountered stayed out of the way of civilization, staying in one place, usually within a reality marble. Which stands to reason that they might not have gotten clothes like we have, or have acted differently than normal citizens in some way."

"Hello, everyone, how're we doing?" A female server came over.

"Good, yourself?"

"Doing well. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Just get two bottles of cider for the table, please. And also...we're in town looking for someone. Has anyone passed through in the last day or two that stood out to you?"

"What do they look like?"

"Well actually, I'm not sure. It's an anonymous business acquaintance, so I haven't met them yet."

"I see. Well...there was one person that seemed a bit off to me. A woman, with long purple hair and a goddess-like body. She made me feel attracted to her the moment she walked in, but...it felt like more than that. It felt like I was under some kind of spell...I know that Ireland is a land that has had connections to magic since ancient times in all of our legends and folktales, and I never really believed in such a thing, but that woman had some kind of powerful presence that I couldn't control myself around. It felt like I needed to do everything in my power to please her, and keep her happy. I don't know if she's this acquaintance you're searching for, but if she is, be careful around her."

"I will. Thank you. Did she say where she was going?"

"No. But I saw her in the background of a picture that one of my friends took and uploaded onto her social media account later on that day. She was walking in the direction of Londonderry County, out west."

"Thanks so much."

"Of course. I'll bring your drinks over right away." She nodded and went over to the bar.

"Master, any idea who she could be? She said she had long purple hair and a goddess-like body…" Musashi thought.

"I do have an idea. And if she's who I think she is, she's probably the Master Lancer."

"Well?"

"In Irish mythology, one person stands out above the rest, and his name is Cú Chulainn, a master of the cursed spear Gae Bolg. When he was young, he trained with a warrior queen named Scathach, who gave him the spear. Scathach lived in a castle in the Land of Shadows, fighting off wraiths that were trying to cross over into our realm. Eventually, by staying there for so long, she turned halfway into a Goddess, becoming immortal, and able to slay men, apparitions, and even gods. Cú was summoned as a Lancer in the last Holy Grail War of Fuyuki, and his skill was comparable to Artoria, so I imagine that Scathach, if it is her, is far stronger, and probably almost as powerful as someone like Edmond, or one of the other members of Angra's inner circle."

"Don't worry Master. I will fight her." Altera reassured.

"I don't want you to fight her alone. We'll need to team up to defeat her." The waitress dropped their drinks off, and Hayashi smiled at her.

"If you could bring the check too? We won't be staying long, now that I know where she's going." She nodded and went off again.

"Well, drink up I guess."

"Should we really be drinking alcohol before fighting, Master?" Florence looked at him somewhat disapprovingly. "After all, last time we did this, we all had hangovers and weren't fighting at our best."

"Last time we were smashed. These are only two bottles between all of us. It might give us all a buzz, a bit of energy."

"...Alright." she nodded. As they looked back at the table, they found that one bottle had already gone missing, and was being chugged by Nero.

"That's not all for you." Hayashi took the bottle back forcefully, but half of it had already been guzzled by the girl.

"Oh...you guys took too long, so I helped myself." She hiccuped, burped, and blushed, looking away.

"Really...you must learn to restrain yourself." Jeanne scowled at her. They began passing the bottle around, each of them taking a few sips, as the waitress brought their check, and Hayashi paid for it. Once finished, they all stood up, ready to leave.

"Ugh...Master...that wasn't such a good idea…" Jeanne shook her head.

"Lightweight." He scoffed, using a kind of magic to cure her dizziness. They left, and started heading west, out of the city, towards the countryside of Northern Ireland.

"Master, it's faint, but I can sense them now. They're not really near here, though. They're north, across the sea." Jeanne looked up at the sky.

"Scotland, huh?" He gritted his teeth. "We should have come while they were still here."

"It's no problem, Master. I'm sure we could find a boat there." Musashi took the lead, all of them heading to a train station to the edge of the island.

 **X**

After a while, they arrived in Moville, a small town at the very far end of the country. Renting a boat, they went out across the sea towards Scotland, getting there in a few hours.

"AAAH!" Jeanne cried out, falling to her knees.

"What's wrong?" Hayashi looked at her.

"I...can sense them well now...that Lancer you talked about...her magic energy is enormous...much stronger than any other we've faced so far."

"Hmph. So maybe it is her after all." Hayashi crossed his arms as their boat docked, and they got out onto the shore.

"There...in that castle…" She pointed to the ruins of a castle, where seven people were sitting at the edge of the cliff.

"Ah. You're here at last." One of them called down to them.

The first one was a burly man, someone who truly looked like a Celtic warrior, wearing black pants, a red sash, a small green battle vest with steel shoulder guards and gauntlets, and short purple hair, wielding a large and heavy spear with green spirals around the metal.

Hayashi could recognize the second servant as Cú himself, wearing a dark blue bodysuit with metal shoulder guards, and a pattern woven around his chest in a different, brighter color, with spiky blue hair that was tied in a large ponytail, and holding a dark red spear, Gae Bolg.

The third he could also recognize as Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, wearing tall brown boots, green pants, a green and black coat, green wristguards, spiky black hair, and wielding two spears, a red one longer than the other, and a shorter yellow one.

The fourth, he did not know, was another warrior, wearing gray pants, and a gray waistcloth, silver chest armor, a blue cape with the symbol of the Knights of Fianna, and long blonde hair, holding a large purple spear, much taller than the others', and even eclipsing his own height.

The fifth servant was female, and a great deal shorter than the others, wearing a white dress, a spiked white crown in her long pink hair, and a purple whip in her hands.

The sixth was very beautiful, wearing gray battle boots, a black dress, matching gray gauntlets, a yellow ribbon tied around her neck, long sweeping white hair, wing hair clips in her hair, and a large purple spear, with the end piece shaped like a heart.

The seventh and final one was the woman that the waitress mentioned, wearing a dark see through bodysuit with black coverings keeping her large breasts and butt covered as a short coat, purple shoulder guards, and had long purple hair with gleaming red eyes, holding a more ancient looking counterpart to Gae Bolg.

'So it is her after all.' He glanced at her.

"Don't be rude, everyone. Introduce yourselves."

"Saber, Fergus Mac Roich." The burly one said.

"Lancer, Cú Chulainn."

"Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne."

"Lancer, Fionn Mac Cumhaill." The one with blonde hair said.

"Rider, Medb. Queen Medb." The woman with pink hair giggled.

"Lancer, Brynhildr." The one with long white hair said very calmly.

"I'm the Master Lancer, Scáthach."

"I didn't know there were any Norse servants." Hayashi looked at Brynhildr, who looked away shly.

"My love, Sigurd, is supposed to be a Heroic Spirit as well, or so I've heard...but I've never encountered him, despite wandering the Throne for over a thousand years now…"

"As for the rest of you...mainly you two." He pointed at Cú Chulainn and Diarmuid.

"Do you remember the last times you were summoned?"

"The last times we were summoned? What are you talking about?" Cú mocked.

"How unfortunate then. Especially after you had such tragic ends, and now you're simply summoned again, doomed to the same fate."

"Who says we're doomed to the same fate?" Diarmuid asked angrily.

"I do. Because if you guys also believe in Avenger's plan, then you're my enemies."

"Believe in his plan?" Scáthach asked.

"Yeah. He wants to live in a world where magecraft is normal, and all people understand it. But to get to that point, he wants to start over, and destroy everything."

"Hm. I don't believe that the normal population should know about magecraft. Our legends and myths are considered so for good reason. If people were to find out that we were real, and that everything we fought against was real, they'd become terrified and paranoid about any future occurrences."

"Yes, exactly. So then why are you helping him?" Hayashi asked.

"I have no control over my own decisions. If we were to leave his side, then he would simply bind us and send one of the stronger servants to defeat us."

"Not if I sever your contract and you form a new one with me."

"Huh? You can do that?" She asked, looking at him curiously. As that happened, they felt a jolt of red lightning throughout their bodies, the rest of the servants suddenly going on the offensive and spreading out to attack Hayashi's servants.

"Do you see what I mean?" she asked.

"Yes…Don't worry, I can help you. As for the rest of you, I'm afraid I have no choice but to send you back to the Throne. Scáthach is much more calm and reserved than all of you."

Fergus went against Altera, Cu went against Nero, Diarmuid against Jeanne, Musashi against Fionn, Florence against Medb, and Hayashi against Brynhildr.

"Spread out. Far enough so that none of them can help each other."

"Ha! You think we want help?! Celtic warriors are lone wolves!" Cu laughed. They all went off to their own battlefields, and Hayashi stayed behind, facing Brynhildr and Scathach.

'Break my contract and start a new one with him...perhaps if I find him worthy…'

 **X**

"So...you are the famous Attila that I keep hearing about." Fergus said, staring her down.

"You have heard of me, even though you are before my time?"

"Normally, servants have no knowledge of those legends that came after they are dead, but after being summoned this time, we've heard quite a bit about how you defeated Moriarty, Holmes, Iskandar, Leonidas, Siegfried, Beowulf, Nezha, Mordred, and even Charlemagne. You are quite the powerful servant."

"And do you believe yourself to be equal to these others, to be able to fight me on even ground?'

"I don't know if I am. Charlemagne was made Master Saber for a reason. But I will do my best, as a Knight of the Red Branch!"

"Knight...of the Red Branch? Master mentioned that name too. What is it?"

"It's a group of warriors that protected Ulster back in my day. We were rather free, able to make our own decisions, as long as we were not disloyal to the kingdom."

"But if the king called for you, you had to obey?"

"Well, yes."

"Sounds like it's not for me."

"You conquered almost half of the world, and are known as the King of Combat and Destruction."

"Yes, but it was a free life, where I could do whatever I wanted. No responsibilities, no calls to service." She summoned her sword.

"Hm. Well then, let's see whose lifestyle was the superior one!" He picked up his giant lance, aiming it at her.

"Believe it or not, this is a sword named Caladbolg. It's the prototype to Gawain's Excalibur Galatine."

"It's a giant weapon. You'll be slow, and your energy isn't as strong as that knight Mordred that I fought previously." She dashed at Fergus, swinging her sword. He blocked it, knocking her off balance, making her gasp and him grin.

"Yes, it is a giant weapon. But I rely on its sheer size for a reason."

'This is just like with Beowulf. In that case…' She looked off to her side, finding a pile of rocks. Backflipping to dodge a downward blow, she grabbed one, turning it into a second Photon Ray using her Civilization Erosion skill.

"The last time I encountered an opponent with large weapons, I simply overpowered them with two of these. Let's see if you can handle it!" She ran at him again, slashing with both blades over and over, beginning to move him back as he continued to block.

"So I see that your title is not just for show!" His drill began to spin like a drill, shattering her sword copy, making her jump away. The sword transformed, all of the metal bulking out, making it spiked, as well as actual spikes jutting out from the hilt.

"Now...Spiral, ready! Let me show you the true rainbow...Caladbolg!" As his sword began to rotate, becoming a drill, he planted it into the ground, emitting a rainbow light as the ground began to crack and cave in. She cried out as it came out under her, making her fall below ground.

"So that's it. And you talked such a big game, too." He chuckled.

"Photon Ray!" His eyes shot downward, as her own drill-like Noble Phantasm broke through the ground and impaled him, sending him back against a rock.

"Ha...haha...damn…"

"For someone who knows about how strong I am, you should have known that my first Noble Phantasm is like a drill as well, so your weapon was never going to faze me. I'm not really familiar with parts of Europe this far west, and so I don't know that much about your myths, but if your friends from the Knights of the Red Branch are only as strong as you, then it's probably better that I didn't know anyway. Hopefully your leader gives me more of a challenge." She pulled her sword out, and he disappeared, as she went back towards the castle ruins.

 **X**

Nero stood across from Cu.

"You look like someone I know, you know." he grinned at her.

"So I've been told before. And yourself? You are called Cu Chulainn? I don't really know about the Celts that much, I admit I fought against them more than learning of their culture."

"Yes, you are the Mad Empress Nero, right? You Romans always thought that you stood at the top of the world. I'm glad your empire collapsed."

"How dare you?! Take that back!"

"Not a chance. You inflicted your will upon others, because you thought that you ruled over the entire world. Well, you didn't. Rather ironic and humorous that you fight alongside the same person that was responsible for your home's downfall."

"Altera? She's not as bad as you'd think."

"It doesn't matter. It's you I'm after anyway." He put his spear over his shoulder, aimed at her.

"Hm. You Celts are largely selfish as well. All you want is a good fight. We Romans decided to live in an orderly society."

"That became corrupt! Just look at Caesar and the Senators!" He yelled, thrusting his weapon at her, as she dodged, then swung her sword out, trying to sweep him off of his feet. But he saw it coming, and jumped, avoiding it, making her stumble back awkwardly.

"I'm not wasting any more time. Gae Bolg!" His spear began to chase her around, going every which direction.

"What's with that spear?!"

"Apologies, it's cursed. Once I pick a target, it has to hit its mark, no matter what."

"We'll see about that." She ignited her blade with flames, slashing it through the air to make a wave of fire, hoping to burn it into ashes, but it still came at her.

'Damn it! All I can do is…!' She held her sword in front of her, hoping to block it, but instead it dove to the ground and shot up at an impossible angle, stabbing her in the stomach, knocking her over.

"Gah...this wound...what have you done…?" She coughed.

"As I said, Gae Bolg is a cursed spear. It hits its target no matter what, and once it does, it inflicts a wound that can never be fully healed unless you break the spear or kill me."

"Aestus Domus Aurea!" She created her theatre, which helped a bit, but largely was still immobilized.

"Heh, try whatever you like. It won't work."

"It's not supposed to…" she smirked, forcing herself up.

"What do you mean?" his smile faded.

"I'll let you figure that out." She gripped her sword, flaring with fire, running towards him, beginning to slash every which way, as he dodged nimbly.

"Laus Saint Claudius!" She dashed at him, unleashing another fire slashed, that Cu once again jumped away from.

'What's going on? I'm feeling slower...what has she done to me?'

Nero swung her sword in a circle, going at him again.

"Fax Caelestis!" She was faster too, able to connect with this attack, injuring him greatly.

"AAARRRRGGHHH! DAMN IT! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he screamed.

"Look around. My theatre is still around. The longer we stay in here, the more powerful I become, and the weaker you become. This is my area, and what I say goes."

"Damn you…! Then perhaps another one will…" He readied Gae Bolg again as it glowed red.

"Are you ready? I will no longer stop! Enjoy, this is the finest Aurora! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" Her theatre evolved, and he found himself standing in water as she stood atop the palace she had materialized.

"Fine then…I'll show you something special!" He ran back 100 meters, then got onto all fours before running forward fifty and jumping into the sky.

"The true power of Gae Bolg is unleashed by throwing it! This time, you'll be taking the force of an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm!"

"Me as well." She grinned as her pipe organs shot out numerous purple blasts of energy that all aimed for him.

"GAE BOLG!" He tossed his spear full force at her, as she closed her eyes.

'This was risky...if the only way that I can get rid of this wound is to kill him, and if his spear can't miss me, then this is a battle of speed. Who can take down the other first…and it needs to be an instant kill.'

"GRAGHHHHHHH!" Cu got bombarded by the projectiles, getting slammed down into the ground. The spear kept flying at her.

'I lost...sorry, Hayashi.' It impaled her, shattering the theatre, and sending her flying forcefully into the ground.

"Ugh...I can't move…" Cu coughed out.

"I'm...about to disappear…" Tears came to Nero's eyes, until she felt herself binded by a command seal.

"Huh…?! What...Hayashi…?"

'I won't let you go. I need you. Just wait for us to get to you…' He looked towards her direction.

 **X**

Jeanne looked at Diarmuid curiously, since he didn't seem to be paying attention to her.

"Um...what exactly are you looking at?"

"The sea, of course. I was pretty landlocked during my life, it's always so calming. Grainne was always fascinated by it. Have you ever gotten to go swimming before?"

"...No. I was landlocked as well. And I didn't live my life as long as most do."

He looked back at her at last, and she felt her heart skip a beat. He was an incredibly handsome man, she had to admit. Wait a minute...something felt off to her. It was if...she couldn't control her attraction to him. She felt like she couldn't fight him...what was going on?! She was fine less than a minute ago!

He smiled a bit when he noticed her eyes widen, and her mouth open a bit.

'I've got you.' He went towards her, aiming his red spear at her, and beginning to flail, thrust, and swipe at her, as she dodged and blocked the techniques sloppily.

"I thought you were supposed to be an inspiring and powerful hero?!" He spun around and thrust it into her waist, easily piercing through her armor plating.

"Agh! How…even though my armor is magically enhanced…?"

"Yes. My Gae Dearg is able to break through any magical barrier, without even having to call out its name to do so."

"Ugh…" She tried to attack him, but couldn't bring herself to do it, due to her crush on him.

"Heh. I bet you're wondering about what's going on with you, too. You see this?" He pointed to the mole on the side of his face.

"It's my cursed 'love spot.' Any woman who lays eyes on me will instantly fall in love, and make it hard for them to resist me."

She remained still for a moment before lashing out with her flag, as he narrowly jumped back to avoid it, also cutting her with his yellow spear.

'Not a very deep wound, unfortunately…' He stopped smiling.

"You knew."

"Yes, of course. I was merely playing. I knew you shook off my spell with your magic resistance early on. You're quite the actress. Though apparently not quite observant enough to know that I would see through it and play along. And I got you with my Gae Buidhe too."

"Yes...those spears…" She winced at her wounds.

"My Gae Dearg, as I said, is for breaking through magical barriers, and my Gae Buidhe is for inflicting wounds that cannot be healed through natural means or magecraft. The only way to get rid of them is by either destroying the spear or killing me-"

"Luminosite Eternelle!" Her flag glowed gold, and her wounds healed.

"How?!"

"My Noble Phantasm. It both heals wounds and absorbs attacks of any classification. It stores the damage inside of it, making it wear over time, but for something so minor like these cuts, it's nothing."

"I doubt it could heal damage that I do to your vital areas." He went at her with his red spear again.

But he found it blocked by her flag. She spun around on it, kicking him away, and then running him through with the spike.

"Grrrgh…." He gritted his teeth and stabbed her with his shorter spear, surprising her.

"Ugh…"

"Can you heal this…?" He pulled it out of her, and she fell onto her back. Diarmuid then forced her flag out, falling onto the ground.

"You don't seem very used to fighting up close, despite being a Top Servant. What did you do during your life?"

"I helped rallied my country together to drive out the English that were oppressing us."

"And did your armies fight for you? You seem to be more of a figurehead than a warrior."

"How dare you! I took part in all of my battles! I did not stand on the sidelines!"

"Then why is it that I took you by surprise? You're still a naive young girl, aren't you? Easily impressionable?"

"Grrr…"

"You don't know what it's like to feel the sting of betrayal, do you?"

"...All too well." She looked down sadly. "I was burned at the stake by the very same people I saved."

"I see. But is it not worse to be betrayed by a single person than a nation?" he coughed.

"What are you saying?"

"Do you know of my legend? It is said to be the basis for Lancelot and Guinevere. Once, I served my King, Fionn mac Cumhaill, as the strongest and most loyal of the Knights of Fianna, the protectors of Ireland. He was to be wed to a woman named Grainne, though at their wedding night, she fell in love with me due to my curse, and she also placed a curse on me to fall in love with her. We ran away together, and were hunted by my king and the other Knights. I remained faithful to him, not making any advances on her, and when we were found by him, he decided to call off his pursuit, recognizing that too much blood had been shed, and legitimizing our marriage, even giving us land and titles, welcoming us back with open arms."

"He sounds like an incredibly noble man."

"Was he? At a later time, while we were out hunting a demonic boar, I killed it in exchange for a mortal wound. I had no fear of death knowing that he was with me, since he had a special ability that allowed him to turn water into a healing agent, and there was a spring just a few feet away from us. And so he went and got some, but dropped it. And he tried a second time, yet it was spilled again. And on the third time, I succumbed to my injuries and left this world. I didn't hold anger towards him. But upon becoming a Heroic Spirit, I learned something. No matter what happens, you are never really forgiven for your actions."

"That's not true! My master told me that I was exonerated for my crimes 25 years after I died!"

"You're too much of an optimist. Don't you see that it took them 25 years to consider you innocent? The people you saved who supported you might be long dead by now, but I'm sure some of them were disappointed with you for having to sacrifice so many people just to get to that point. Don't you feel anger for that?"

" _You are a prime example of hatred too, Jeanne. Your Alter form wouldn't exist if you truly didn't hate the people who condemned you. Admit it, that when you were burned alive, you despised them for betraying you, for spitting out lies about you."_

"...No."

"Then you must truly be a Saint. No wonder you were placed in the Ruler class."

" _Saintess~"_

" _I don't need your help with this fight!"_

"Drill! Gae Dearg! Gae Buidhe!"

"Luminosite Eternelle!" She deflected his attacks and healed her wound, making her faster and unhindered, able to spin her weapon around and slam him in the face with it, sending him flying into a boulder.

"HRGK!"

"We've reached the end."

"So we have…tell me, what is Hayashi to you?"

"He's my Master, and a good one. He's very special to me."

"I thought so...that's why you were able to break my love spell so easily…" he chuckled, making her cheeks go red for a second.

"Listen...my master doesn't believe that Avenger's plan will help the world...and I believe in what she believes. So please take care of this world…" He grinned at her before disappearing.

"I will."

 **X**

"Diarmuid is defeated...I never got to tell him that I regret my action every day…"

There was something about this man. He seemed...lamentful about something, yet still focused on her. He had an air of serenity, yet also of valor and courage around him.

"Tell me fair maiden, what is your name? I do not recognize you."

"It's Musashi."

"Musashi...you are clearly not from around here, are you?"

"No. I come from a land far to the east of here. Almost on the other side of the world."

"I see. I was the leader of Ireland's defenders, who served the High King. We led a glorious group, and were revered throughout history, but everything slowly began to fall apart after a falling out with the strongest of my knights and my close friend, Diarmuid."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that. Such are the burdens of a noble, I suppose. I was free during my lifetime. A ronin, a samurai without a master. I won 61 duels undefeated, but was also able to write in my spare time as well as meditate."

"I see. Perhaps that was a life fit for you, but I enjoyed having the company of friends surrounding me and fighting by my side."

"I'm not saying I was alone all the time...I had students and friends that were by my side."

"Hm. But if you were a warrior without someone to serve, your strength comes from yourself, does it not?"

"...Yes. My ultimate goal is to reach the state of emptiness. Where my swords are not hindered by emotions."

"And you'd rather be emotionless?"

"Yes. If I just heard you correctly, you were plagued by regrets in your life."

"You are foolish. There are many more good events than bad thanks to having connections. After all, you're serving under a Master now."

"I have no control over that."

"You sound somewhat hypocritical to me. Why don't you test your blade against me and I'll judge how much you rely on others."

"Fine then." She wasted no time, teleporting to his side and preparing to draw one of her blades.

"Hm." He blocked it with his spear, without having to move.

"What?!"

"This spear is able to kill even Divine Spirits. Of course you can't match up to me." He kicked her away and ran after her, aiming his spear for her chest. She braced her fall by rolling, recovering and getting up, and then blocking his spear again with her swords. This time she jumped back into the air and slashed, unleashing waves of purple energy that rushed at him.

"Oho." He stood still this time, and water from a nearby spring flew over to him and created a shield, blocking her attack.

"Water…?!"

"Water is the element that I use in battle. And yours? Fintan Finegas." He licked his thumb quickly and looked at her.

"Wind or light perhaps." Musashi's eye twitched.

"My Noble Phantasm Fintan Finegas grants me great knowledge by licking my thumb, where some of the fat from the all-knowing Salmon of Knowledge stuck to me."

"What a strange technique…doesn't matter." She placed her sword tips downwards and fell back down to the land, releasing a shockwave as she touched down.

"Oh?" He threw his lance into the air and backflipped to avoid it, then jumped up and caught his weapon again, aiming for her.

"Now is the time for a glorious victory! This is the one blow that has slain fallen gods. Taste it with that body! Mac an Luin!" His water aura surrounded his spear, and he shot a pressurized water beam out of the tip, flying towards Musashi, piercing right through her, making her gasp as blood slowly trickled from her mouth. The water continued through the forest, even shattering a few trees.

"I am strong, aren't I? How unfortunate for you. As far as Celtic warriors go, I'm second only to Scathach."

"Ugh…" She fell backwards, stopping herself with willpower so that she remained standing. "I've been underestimating you...no more…" She sheathed both of her swords.

"I place my trust in Tenjin of the Tenman Shrine, Deity of Absolute Freedom. Nioh Kurikara, Shotenshou!" Her giant oni god manifested, surprising Fionn, as its four massive swords began to swing downwards towards him. He held his lance up to protect himself, but it was shattered in half by the first one, dealing massive damage as the remaining strikes connected.

"Agggghhhhhh….Uisce Beatha…" He opened a water canteen strapped to his side, pouring some of it into his hands, and rubbing it on his wounds, slowly healing them.

"My Uisce Beatha Noble Phantasm gives me the ability to turn any water I hold into a healing agent." He smiled, now feeling better.

"Not bad, but I didn't say I was done yet." She took her main katana out again, and its blade lit up purple, releasing a spiraling vortex of purple energy into the sky.

"Sever the spirit in the sword! Exterminate every kind of evil with rage, Hayagriva! This single stroke is surely my path of the void, my way of life! Ishana Daitenshou!" She released her attack, creating a huge burst that sped towards him.

'Mac an Luin…!' He looked around frantically for his spear before remembering that it had been destroyed by the first stage of her attack.

'...I lost.' He allowed himself to be consumed by the light, getting blasted back against the bottom of a steep hill. Musashi sheathed her sword and stumbled over to him as he began to disappear.

"Not yet…!" She poured some water into his hands and placed them upon her own wound, healing it as she sighed in relief. She looked at him, seeing his face light up with a smile and a few chuckles.

"Something funny?"

"Yeah...if that was your strongest move...you don't stand a chance against her...Diarmuid...Grainne...I'm on my way back…" He dispersed completely, and she stood up slowly, beginning to head back towards Hayashi.

'If what he just said is true...then Master is in trouble!'

 **X**

Florence looked at Medb with a bit of disdain. She giggled, looking at the Berserker curiously.

"You've been looking at me that way for a while now. Something wrong?"

"I'm from Britain. I'm aware of your legend. Whore." Steam blew out of Medb's face, seeming infuriated. She quickly calmed down though, then giggling.

"And yourself? Haven't you done it? Don't you like sex?"

"Yes, but I never married."

"What a shame. I was married multiple times."

"What was the point if you just kept getting with every man you laid eyes on? Your legend says that it took seven men to satisfy you."

"Or Fergus once, yes, I'm aware of that quote. It's true, though there is one ultimate conquest that I've never been able to get my hands on." She licked her lips.

"Cu Chulainn."

"Yes! He was the one man who always fought off my advances, no matter what I tried! I must have him!"

"You realize that Nero is going to defeat him, right?"

"It doesn't matter if we're here or not, I could entrance him up in the Throne!"

"I can't understand you for the life of me. You might be a powerful servant that lived during the Age of Gods, but I bet you'll still hurt from one of these." She grabbed her pistol and fired a few shots, Medb dodging them.

"Of course I know what guns are by now. But I'm not going to get hit by one."

"We'll see about that." She grabbed her second one and fired shot after shot, Medb running around and continuing to avoid each bullet.

'Let me see if I can knock her off guard with this..!'

"Fergus My Love!" She called out, summoning a weaker version of Caladbolg, and swinging it to the side, releasing a powerful wave of light that seemed to screech through the sky, making Nightingale somersault forward to dodge it. The weapon disappeared, and she ran up to Berserker, beginning to whip her legs, making her flinch and contract her body.

"Hahahaha! I have no use for women, so I can hurt you as much as I want!" She moved up to her hips, then her stomach and chest, and stopped, preparing to get her face.

"Nursing of Steel!" She healed her wounds and threw her coat at Medb, making her swipe it out of the way, seeing that Nightingale was already gone.

"Behind you." As soon as Medb turned around, Florence fired bullets into her, and kicked her back against the ground.

"Golden Rule…" She used one of her skills to heal herself, then stand up.

"You bitch! I'll give you a treat...All powers belong to me...the crown of total domination...the hard steel of oppression...and the terror that shakes the heart of men! Chariot My Love!" A maroon chariot pulled by two bulls appeared, and she climbed inside, taking the reins, and cracking them, speeding towards Florence. She was captured by her, brought inside the Chariot, where Medb closed the curtains.

"Inside here is my 'love nest.' Whoever's in here is trapped until we finish having sex. I do not normally make love to females, but hey, you have a nice figure, so perhaps I'll have fun anyways~!" she giggled, blushing.

"Heh…I don't think so. You see, I have a high rank of Mad Enhancement. I'm a Berserker after all."

"What…?!"

"My goal is to rid the world of all sickness and pain, and to achieve this, I would go to any length. So although I am able to retain my reason unlike most, I can only think of this ambition most of the time. So this Noble Phantasm cannot captivate me."

"You misunderstand. The Noble Phantasm itself is not meant to captivate you. That part is on me. The purpose of this chariot is to trap you. And you cannot leave until you fuck me."

"No, there is a way to leave."

"Enlighten me." She smirked.

"Treatment, start. I will abstain from everything that is harmful and everything that is poisonous. I will stop them with all my strength and guide everybody to happiness! Nightingale Pledge!"

Medb gasped as her chariot disappeared, Florence recovering due to the anticipation of her effect, and Medb skidding along the ground.

"This time, I'm not giving you another chance." As Medb stopped, she laid down, the pain too great to stand up again. Florence walked over and fired off a few rounds into her head, killing her and sending her back to the Throne.

"That's it then." She sighed, before receiving a telepathic message from Hayashi.

'Florence, hurry and go heal Nero. She's in trouble.'

'Master? You can communicate over long distances?'

'Of course. Hurry though. My command seal is the only thing keeping our contract in existence. She's to the Northwest.'

'Yes! At once!'

 **X**

"So then, Brynhildr. The fallen Valkyrie. You are supposed to be Odin's daughter, right?"

"Yes...if you know that...then you are aware of my legend, correct?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry you haven't been able to find Sigurd yet."

"Thank you…"

"Tell me, do you believe in his plan? Your Master doesn't."

"Personally, I don't think a world with magecraft or without will make that much of difference. If he believes that it will help people rather than hinder them, then who am I to disagree?"

"You are your own person. If you truly believe in something, you should stick to that belief, even if your life already ended once. That's why you are all blessed as Servants. You are given a second chance, maybe even more."

"Hm. You almost sound like my beloved. You remind me of him a bit."

"I'm no hero."

"Then why are you defending this world for what it is?"

"Because I don't believe that humans are ready for magecraft yet. They'll only destroy themselves more than they already have. That and revenge. Nothing more."

"You are a bit of a hero, helping the world like that, without asking for anything in return."

"But I am asking for something in return."

"And what might that be?"

"Something from the world itself, not the population."

"...You are truly like him. But that's not good for you. If you remind me of my Sigurd, then I must kill you. He was unfaithful to me…!" She swiped her lance at him and he backflipped, getting away from her. She flew towards him, twirling it every which way, trying to hit him. Hayashi activated his powers and his speed increased, still being able to avoid her strikes, then punching her back, running up and delivering another series of strikes to her face. Though as he stepped back, she merely looked at him indifferently.

"Why did you think that you would be a match for me? Your powers do make you stronger, true. But against top servants like myself, you don't stand a chance." She slashed him diagonally upwards, making a huge gash going from his waist up to his shoulders.

"Gah…!"

"Never pick a fight with a Valkyrie." She sighed and stepped away, leaving him there.

'I guess you weren't impressive enough after all.' Scathach looked at him solemnly.

"MASTER!" The others, save for Florence and Nero, landed nearby, tending to him.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" Jeanne held her flag over him, healing his wounds.

"Thanks…" He winced as he got up, glaring at Lancer.

"Master, is this another battle you'd like to fight yourself?" Altera asked.

"Yes. Please try to weaken Scathach. I don't want you to completely defeat her."

"Understood." They nodded, agreeing with his wishes this time.

"And you believe that this time will be different?" she asked, pointing her spear at him.

"Yeah...you see, I was holding myself back before. Before all of you showed up, I hadn't used my powers since I was first possessed. At first, I couldn't control myself, but the more I used them, the more I became acclimated to them. Not because I was getting used to the powers themselves, but because I was becoming angrier and angrier at Angra." he grinned. "And now, I've been holding myself back from becoming angry so that my powers don't spiral out of control. But against someone like you, maybe I need to let loose a little bit! Murderous Intent." Red lightning surged around him, and his gaze became more intense.

"You see, this skill lets me surpass my limits as a human and enter the realm of Heroic Spirits. Of course, I'll be burnt out when this wears off, and my healing factor will still make me exhausted, but it's worth it to take you down." Faster than she could react to, he sped around to her back, and kicked her, before going around to the front and doing the same thing, repeating the process, knocking her around.

"Ugh!" She stopped herself in midair and swung her lance around in a circle, trying to hit Hayashi.

"Too slow." He teleported away and landed back down on the ground. She looked down upon him, twirling her lance before pointing it at him.

"It's troubling. My power is...Love. Hate. Love. Hate. Love. Love. Love, Love, Love...Brynhildr Romantia!" Her spear grew to twice the size, surrounded in a blue aura of fire, flying down towards him.

'I can sense...the power of this Noble Phantasm…' Hayashi held his hand out, stopping the lance as it hit him.

"What?!" She pulled away. "Why didn't it work?!"

"I could tell that your attack wouldn't be able to harm me. How does your Noble Phantasm work?"

"The more someone is a hero, the more damage I do. Against someone like Sigurd, who I love more than anything, the damage would be maximized."

"Then it's simple. You hate me. I'm no hero. I'm just a selfish bastard." he chuckled, making her eyes widen.

"But that was...my strongest attack…"

"Too bad for you." He held his hand up and blasted a beam of energy through her heart, eliminating her. He then fell over, exhausted, his skill out of time.

"Master, are you alright?" Jeanne asked.

"Yes, just give me a bit of time...In the meantime…" He looked over at Scathach.

"You said that you would break my contract, but you haven't convinced me of your strength yet. You are indeed powerful and have interested me, but you're not at a level that I would pledge my service to you as a Servant of yours." She got down from her seat on one of the old castle walls and faced the other servants.

"So then...why don't you all try to show me your power? Perhaps I'll be impressed." She grabbed her spear and brought it in front of her, ready to fight.

Altera, Musashi, and Jeanne all readied themselves.

 **X**

"Nero!" Florence ran to her side, beginning to heal her immediately.

"Nightin...gale…"

"Hold still." Nero's wounds began to get smaller, before closing up completely.

"Ugh...thank you, Florence." She managed to sit up, Berserker helping her.

"You're welcome. What happened to your opponent?"

"He's over there. He's probably just as injured as I was." They stood up and walked over to where Cu was, now unconscious.

"...He's barely breathing." Florence leaned down and put her ear to his chest.

"You must leave him. We can't afford to let him stand up again, he's too powerful."

"Don't worry, I know what we must do. Let's get back to Master." They nodded at each other and began going back to where the other fight was taking place.

' _Lancer.'_

" _Wh...What…? Who's...there…?"_

" _Who do you think? I need a favor from you...you're not out of the picture just yet…"_

" _What do you mean…?"_ His body began to change form, his wounds healing, and becoming covered in a thick black, red, and purple smoke.

 **X**

"Let's begin." Musashi took out her two blades, slashing them in a cross-shape, releasing two waves of energy. Scathach sliced through both attacks with a single movement of her lance, unfazed.

"You are all no match for me. You see, my Wisdom of the Haunted Ground skill allows me to perceive the future in short bursts, and I have foreseen that you will fall to me."

"You might want to check again!" Musashi ran to her and begin slashing with both of her swords, Scathach easily avoiding them and deflecting them, despite the class disadvantage.

Jeanne ran to intercept her, beginning to thrust her flag forward, once again all being dodged by Lancer.

"Your attacks are all too slow." She kicked both of them away, then looked at Altera, who seemed to be observing.

"Aren't you going to fight as well?"

"I suppose. I like to observe my opponents' techniques first before taking them on, even if that means my allies are hurt in the process." She grabbed her sword and held it towards the sky, lighting up as star particles flew towards Scathach. She jumped into the air and flipped diagonally, avoiding the attacks.

"Those are homing attacks, you won't avoid them." Lancer looked behind her as they continued following, forcing her to start running as she landed.

"I will destroy the target. I won't take life. Only destroy your civilization." Lancer gasped and looked behind her as she heard the chant, distracting her long enough to be hit by the star particles.

"Now! Photon Ray!" She propelled herself forward with the force of her Noble Phantasm, targeting Scathach.

"No...not yet. God Slayer." A purple aura began to surround her, taking on Altera's Noble Phantasm with her spear, seemingly even.

"What is that skill?" Altera gritted her teeth, losing power in her attack.

"Didn't your Master tell you about my legend? I can kill even Divine Spirits, and my skill God Slayer gives me a temporary boost in attack against those with Divinity, like yourself."

"You could tell…?!"

"Of course." Her spear was able to break through the Noble Phantasm, piercing her and bringing her down to her knees.

"You must have thought that you were stronger than me, just like all of your other opponents? Such arrogance. I am not like any of your previous conquests."

"Teardrop Photon Ray."

"What?!"

"Who's the arrogant one now...you were so conceited with talking down to me that you didn't even see the way I was holding my sword." she laughed. Scathach looked up, both of them being consumed by the light blue pillar of energy.

"Altera…" Hayashi grunted. She had never been hit by that attack before. Hopefully she was okay. When the light went away, they were both on the ground, injured. However, they both had enough strength to get back up again, Lancer jumping back to gain some distance.

"You're not quite off the hook yet. I place my trust in Tenjin of the Tenman Shrine, Deity of Absolute Freedom. Nioh Kurikara, Shotenshou!" Musashi stood nearby where Lancer landed, and summoned her oni, swinging all four swords down at the same time. Scathach gritted her teeth and held her weapon up, stopping the strikes with some effort.

'She's strong enough to block even my Noble Phantasm?! It doesn't matter, I need to keep going!'

"Sever the spirit in the sword! Exterminate every kind of evil with rage, Hayagriva! This single stroke is surely my path of the void, my way of life! Ishana Daitenshou!" Musashi unleashed the full power of her blade, launching a huge blast of purple energy towards her.

"Here I go. Stab and Penetrate...Thrust and Drill!" Her speed increased exponentially, dodging the blast and appearing in front of Musashi, piercing her with her spear, sending her flying up into the air. She summoned a second Gae Bolg, and prepared to throw it up at her like a Javelin, red energy surrounding it.

"With this strike, you shall die. Gae Bolg Alternative!" She let go of it, launching the spear up towards her.

"Laus Saint Claudius!" Nero appeared in front of it and slashed it away, sending the spear back into the ground, Scathach picking it up. Nightingale grabbed Musashi, and began healing her.

"You're wasting your mana. Gae Bolg attacks cannot be healed unless the spear itself is broken or I'm defeated. And good luck with that."

"Nursing of Steel!" Nightingale's skill was able to break through the curse, healing her.

"Oh?"

"My Nursing of Steel skill heals indiscriminately, even nullifying curses."

"So then, you're going to fight me next?" She looked at Nero.

"You bet! Aestus Domus-!"

"Hold it." A monotonous and ominous voice said, followed by a heavy footstep.

"Hm?" They all stopped and looked over, finding someone who looked like Cu Chulainn, but...not quite.

He was of the same body type and physique, but his skin was darker, and his outfit was different. He wore black armor with red spikes all over it, along with a long black and red spiked tail, a black shawl, a red fur collar, and a red ring of spikes around his neck.

"Cu? Is that you?" Scathach asked, lowering her spear.

"Yeah. Though I'm not exactly the same student that you once had."

'Another Alter form?' Hayashi asked himself.

"You're taking too long, Master. Why are you holding back? You could easily kill them all."

"Because-"

"I really don't care. It's inexcusable that someone like yourself, who's known for being immortal and slaying even Divine Spirits, is holding back against third-rate opponents like this."

"And so? What are you going to do about it?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm going to show you how it's done." He grinned, gripping his own spiked Gae Bolg tightly. The others all stood in front of him, ready to fight again. Scathach took a back seat, deciding to watch instead, remaining nearby the still recovering Hayashi.

"Well? Come on then. Give me your best." He closed his free fist.

Musashi threw one of her swords at him, and he swiped it to the side, where she ran to him and slashed sideways, delivering a cut across his torso, but not fazing him.

"Not good enough." He struck her in the back with his spear, knocking her into the ground forcefully. Nero and Jeanne went next, again succeeding in slashing him with their weapons, but he ignored his wounds and cut through both of them.

"Nightingale Pledge!" Florence healed the others, looking at Cu Alter.

"Your defense Noble Phantasm is negated."

He looked at her boredly.

"Who ever said that I was using a Noble Phantasm? I'm just able to ignore the pain due to a basic skill of mine: Battle Continuation. I can keep fighting no matter what kind of wounds I endure, unless it's something truly fatal. But I won't give you the chance to inflict such a hit."

"Are you sure about that?" He looked behind him, seeing the others getting up.

"Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theatre rises from within the sea-Extravagant! Magnificient! And Elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theatre! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" Nero's strongest Noble Phantasm unleashed its barrage of missiles, burying Cu in smoke.

"Now it's my turn. I'll show you the true essence of the Five Rings! I place my trust in Tenjin of the Tenman Shrine, Deity of Absolute Freedom. Nioh Kurikara, Shotenshou!" Musashi summoned her oni again, and had its four swords slash Berserker, who recovered from before and was able to block the blows with his spear.

"Let's go, master's blade draw...Ishana Daitenshou!" She unleashed her blade's final strike, and he twirled his lance, gathering power within it.

"Not quite good enough, swordswoman. Gae Bolg!" He tossed it straight through her blast, impaling her, then going to retrieve it, defeating Nero along the way by crushing her sword and punching her straight through the stomach.

"Damn it...help us!" Hayashi looked over at Scathach. "I'm out of commission, my powers wore me out…"

"I'm still observing. If your friends cannot defeat him, then I will step in. Also, can't your Berserker heal you?"

"No, my body doesn't work that way…"

"Tch."

"All evil is here. The time for revenge has come! This is the roar of my soul that was polished by hatred...La Grondement Du Haine!" Jeanne took out her sword and unleashed a wave of flames that shot up at Cu, then becoming impaled by multiple stakes.

"Let's see you get your way out of that one." She laughed.

"Have you forgotten about Battle Continuation already?" He asked, his wounds healing and becoming revived.

"Star Photon Ray!" Altera used her strongest Noble Phantasm, summoning down stars that created a meteor-sized explosion when hitting him.

"Let's see your Battle Continuation get you out of that one." She smirked. When he emerged, he was growling, heavily damaged.

"I guess you're more than I bargained for after all...he didn't mention that part…"

"'He'?" Scathach looked at him.

"Slaughter. Without exception. Liberate all curses. Without moderation. Be prepared to challenge despair...Curruid Coinchenn!" He became surrounded by a black, red, and orange aura, his body changing, emerging with new armor on his hands and head. His hands seemed to have black spiked armor on them, with the claws all in the shape of Gae Bolg's tip, the same with the helmet he was wearing, which had a horn on the top.

"You're both finished!" He roared, swiping both of them with his claws continuously before impaling them with his horn, inflicting major damage on them both. Dropping them both on the ground, he set his eyes on Florence next.

"Nightingale Pled-!"

"TOO LATE!"

"VERG AVESTA!" Cu Alter was stopped dead in his tracks when Hayashi used his Noble Phantasm, inflicting a fatal chest wound onto him, then collapsing, blood leaking from his chest, mouth, and hand.

"Damn you…..!" He took one step before falling onto his knees.

"...Very well, Hayashi Tsukamoto. I will assist you. Gate of Skye!" A cold wind blew through the area as a giant set of two ancient doors appeared in the sky.

"You wouldn't dare…!"

"You know me. Of course I would. Anyone sucked into this will die instantly, or if not sustain significant damage, so I would be able to end you afterwards with Gae Bolg Alternative. You were the one who wanted me to stop holding back." He felt himself getting lifted off of the ground, pulled into the door, and unable to do anything about it.

"No...I must...at least…!" His armor broke and his spear returned.

"GAE BOLG!" He used up his remaining energy, giving more power to his spear, launching it directly at her, as his spirit origin crumbled, and he was sent back to the Throne just before being completely consumed by the gate. Scathach was skewered onto the ground, straight threw her shoulder, crying out as the spear disappeared as well. Her gate closed and went away.

"At last...I'm dying…" Scathach breathed.

"Master!" Florence ran to his side, preparing to heal him.

"No. Go heal her first."

"What…?!" She looked over at Hayashi. Florence nodded and went over, bending down to begin treatment on her.

"No, stop! Do you know...how long I've waited to die...to not be cursed to Dun Scaith or to the Throne anymore...this is what I've waited for for 2500 years! Do not heal me!"

"Shut up!" She was startled by his outburst. "As your master, you don't get to decide what's best for you, I do. And I'm not going to let you die, you hear me?!"

"Master…?"

"You said you'd help us, didn't you? Well, as soon as I'm able to move around again, the first thing I'm doing is breaking your contract. You take orders from me now, got that?"

"..."

"...Florence, heal her." She went back to doing what she was originally going to do, healing Scathach, then Altera and Jeanne, who was back in her Ruler state, then Musashi and Nero, and at last Hayashi, as much as his magic would allow her to.

"Ugh…" He slowly stood up and walked over to her, holding his hand out as a command seal lit up.

"By order of command seal, I break this contract and form a new one with this Lancer-Class Servant!" The binding magic that held her down disappeared from her body, in the form of red energy. When her spirit origin started to fade away, he held his hand out to her, and she took it, getting down on one knee.

"I, Celtic Warrior and Queen of Shadows Scathach, promise to pledge my service to you, Hayashi Tsukamoto, as my new Master."

"So it shall be." They said together, and her body came back in to physical form.

"Good. Now then, let's go home. I want to ask you a few things."

"Of course….Master."

 **X**

"Damn it damn it damn it! DAMN IT!" Angra yelled in a pure rage, pacing around the Heliopolis Palace, in the main office with his Inner Circle, save for Hijikata, who had, of course, left for Japan earlier that day.

"What's happened?" Edmond asked.

"Scathach decided to join Hayashi for some stupid reason!" He punched the desk.

"What?!" They all were taken back by this news.

"Foolish girl." Ozymandias growled.

"She's more than that! She's incompetent! She's an idiot! What could possibly persuade her to his side?!" Edmond yelled.

Angra calmed down a bit and sighed, tapping his forehead.

"I should have expected this. Of all the servants we summoned, she was one of the wisest and most experienced, and was the only Master who didn't really side with me. And after I went through all the trouble of transforming Cu as well…"

"Angra, if that is the case, then we're in more trouble than we realize." Solomon stood up.

"What do you mean?" He looked over at him.

"Despite her not sympathizing with us, she was second only to us five, your most powerful and trusted servants. She was incredibly powerful, and I was counting on her to provide much of the mana needed to undergo the ritual successfully. If she is still in this world, and now working with Hayashi as well, we have a big problem on our hands. The mana pool will be set back by at least a week."

"What?!" He yelled.

"You're kidding?! She accounted for that much of it?!" Edmond stood up. "But what about the Japanese servants?! Or the Ancient World Servants?!"

"How do you think Hijikata and I are supposed to evolve?" Rider sighed.

"Of course, now that they have Scathach, they have a greater chance of taking down some of our strongest Servants, such as Arjuna and Karna, who I have no doubt will almost double the total just by themselves. But the Japanese servants and Ancient World Servants are the only two groups left at this point...and if we proceed as planned, we won't be able to make all five of us Grand Class. More than likely, two of us would have to be left out."

"Namely myself. As the weakest, I require the most energy." Angra groaned.

"Yes." They stood in silence for a short time, before he began pacing back and forth.

"Fine then. How many?"

"I'm sorry?"

"How many will it take, Solomon?! How many servants to make up for the loss?!"

"I'm not exactly sure."

"Can't you just resummon Charlemagne or Yan Qing or Merlin? Wouldn't that be the easiest way?" Edmond asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Once a servant is summoned and defeated, they can't be summoned again for at least a few years. That's the Grail's way of limiting powerful servants."

"Damn."

"I've summoned most of the existing Servants on the Throne for this whole plot of ours, as well. I'd have to really dig deep to get some more good ones on the level of that witch. Hmmm….." He rubbed his eyes, thinking.

"Ah, yes, they could work. At least for the time being." They moved the desk out of the way and Angra held his hand out, a summoning circle appearing at his command and lighting up. Without a chant, seven new Servants appeared, of varying heights and appearances.

"Yeeeees~? You called~?"

"I did. Rider, I won't waste time with details." He held his hand out again and their foreheads lit up red for a moment before looking at him.

"Now that you know what we're about, I want you to travel to your homeland and defeat Hayashi Tsukamoto for me. This plan of mine is dependant upon your success. Understand?"

"Of course~ Let's get going, everyone~!" They walked off, and Angra gritted his teeth.

"That should buy us some time. In the meantime, I'll contact Hijikata and let him know about this setback. Ramesses, you might want to start letting your team know that they should prepare for battle sooner rather than later. If all else fails, it's up to you and those two demigod brothers to massacre all of them."

"Hm. Hopefully they can put their differences aside long enough to defeat them. Once they work together, they're unstoppable."

 **End.**

 **Okay, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter. PLEASE READ THIS:**

 **First of all, for those of you who play Grand Order, try to summon Ozymandias himself now that he's available! I know I didn't :(**

 **Second, and more importantly, I'm putting this story on a short hiatus for about a month at most. The reason is because I'm applying for Graduate School at the beginning of August, and I need the time to get everything ready for that. If you remember, I go to school for Film Composition, and so I need to write three original pieces to submit to my schools. As such, I tried to get this chapter done early so that I could focus my time on that for a little while. I hope you understand.**

 **Thank you for continuing to support this story, I'm really amazed at how well it's taken off! See you next chapter. Again, it shouldn't be longer than a month, so the next one will probably be out in early August.**


	9. Part 3: Rio de Janeiro

**Hayashi: Nerofest? What the hell is that?**

 **Nero: It's a huge festival in my honor where everyone, servants and masters alike, can participate in a tournament to prove who's the strongest!**

 **Hayashi: All for your entertainment?**

 **Nero: Umu!**

 **Hayashi: That...is the most selfish thing anyone's ever done...ever.**

 **Nero: Master~~~!**

 **Ozymandias: I don't see what the point is, we all know I'm going to be the winner.**

 **Hayashi: Not exactly, you do know that you're going to lose in this story because you're the co-main villain, right?**

 **Ozymandias: Remember Zero?**

 **Hayashi: That's not like this.**

 **Ozymandias: We shall see.**

 **Songs**

 **Arrival in Rio: Amado Mio (Pink Martini)**

 **Rio Beach: City of Night (Pink Martini)**

 **Ship Chase: Take What Is Ours! (Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag OST)**

 **Archer: Sendai no Meiyuu (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Vs. Blackbeard and Billy: Heat of the Battle (Bleach OST)**

 **El Dorado:** **エルドラドの女王 エルドラド** **bgm** **アガルタの女**

 **Vs. Geronimo: Connor Chase Theme (Assassin's Creed III Unreleased OST)**

 **Vs. Drake: The High Seas (Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag OST)**

 **Vs. Quetzalcoatl: anima_ataraxia_** **アレンジ** **_Fate_EXTRA_CCC_** **コラボ 殺生院キアラ戦** **_bgm (Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Vs. Quetzalcoatl on Quetzalcoatlus: anima_ataraxia_** **アレンジ** **Fate_EXTRA_CCC_** **コラボ ヘブンズホール戦** **_bgm (Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Piedra Del Sol: Father Son Kamehameha (AinTunez)**

 **Hayashi and Jeanne: Let's Never Stop Falling in Love (Pink Martini)**

 **Hayashi and Lorelei Argument: Mysterious (One Punch Man OST)**

 **Hayashi's Challenge: Chaotic Back and Forth (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Hayashi Vs. Lorelei: The Chosen Path (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Hayashi Activates his Powers: Chaotic Back and Forth (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Breaking Ties and Leaving: Main Titles (Batman Under the Red Hood OST)**

 **Burn Notice: Arkham City Main Theme (Batman Arkham City OST)**

 **New Servants: An Die Musik (Franz Schubert)**

Sherlock Holmes, the World's Greatest Detective.

Nikola Tesla, the genius inventor and master of electricity.

Charlemagne, the King, Founder, and Father of Medieval Europe.

Edmond Dantes, the world's most well known Avenger who survived versions of Hell and killed his enemies using godlike dark powers.

Yan Qing, the chinese martial artist outlaw and musician whose group rivaled an Ancient Chinese Dynasty.

Merlin, the legendary court mage of King Arthur who guided the king and was unparalleled in the mystic arts.

Scathach, the immortal warrior queen who slayed humans, demons, and gods alike and taught the most important figure in Irish mythology.

Hijikata Toshizo, one of the leaders of the Shinsengumi who challenged the entire country of Japan, fighting for his Shogun.

And Ramesses II, the legendary Pharaoh worshipped as a god who expanded his empire and defied his brother Moses in what became one of the most well-known stories in the Bible and in history.

These are all of the master servants that Angra summoned, among the best in their class. Their journey had been long, but there were now only two left to defeat before Hayashi would confront his nemesis again.

"Tell me...what are they planning? Did he even tell you?" Hayashi asked, now back at his house with all of his summoned servants, plus the newly contracted Lancer.

"As a matter of fact, he did say. He said that should something occur with one of the others betraying him, he would invite me to become a member of his inner circle. Though I was never interested. In short, they want to become Grand Servants."

"Grand...Servants…?" Jeanne asked, the others also looking somewhat confused, even Hayashi.

"It is understandable if you're not familiar with the concept. Even for those who study the Holy Grail and its principles, it is a somewhat elusive topic. Allow me to explain. In Ancient Times, before the concept of a Holy Grail War existed, servants would occasionally be summoned by the Counter Force, the will of the planet wanting to protect itself, to stop certain disasters and save civilizations. The counter force would choose one of the strongest servants in a class, and it would be summoned as a Grand Servant, where they were much stronger than they are normally, and would possess all of the powers that they held in life. Over time, this ritual devolved into the current Holy Grail Wars, where people summon servants to fight each other, and by summoning from the grail and the master's mana supply, the servants are much weaker than they once were. Solomon, the most powerful Caster, has created a way to evolve a servant to become Grand Class artificially by collecting the mana of many different servants that are defeated once summoned. He's been collecting it from every servant that you've fought so far, hoping to transform all of them to be able to have the strength to rule the world through magecraft and reset everything into a new utopia."

"Damn. We have to stop them before that happens."

"Indeed. But know that it will not be easy. Grand Servant Candidates, as I mentioned, are among the strongest in their classes: Hijikata, Edmond, Solomon, and Ozymandias are all powerful beyond belief."

"But then wait a minute...how can Angra hope to become Grand?"

"As I said, this method is artificial, and by absorbing enough energy, anyone could transform. However, we have a small advantage. With my contract now with you, my energy did not go into the pool, and it accounted for a great deal of their stock. I'm sure they're set back for a short time."

"Then this is where we make our move. I'm not going to summon any other servants, I believe we have enough, and honestly, keeping watch over this many of you has started to wear me out." he laughed. "But we have a much stronger army than we did when we first started. We might be able to pull this off. I guess we're going to head to Japan next if Hijikata is-" Hayashi's phone pinged, and he picked it up, reading a text from Lorelei.

"...R-Rio de Janeiro?"

"Why would there be…? They're stalling for time and resources." Scathach concluded.

"There were never any servants from the Americas that he summoned?"

"No. He must be trying to compensate for the lost energy they were expecting me to give."

"Well...it's unfortunate, but we have to leave them alone. It's more important to go stop Master Berserker."

"Master, you said yourself that the longer servants stay in this world, the more potential they have to affect the world around them." Kato reminded them.

"Indeed. And if we don't go there, who's to say that they won't start hurting the population to provoke us?" Scathach suggested.

"It will dissuade us from our goal for a short time, but I believe it is something we must do, Master." Jeanne told him. He looked at all of them before closing his eyes and sighing.

"Fine. Maybe we could use a bit of a vacation as well. We haven't really stayed in any place for so long. Make sure to pack swimsuits."

"What? Why?!" Jeanne asked, a bit embarrassed.

"Because this." He looked up a picture of Rio and showed it to them. "It's going to be hot there. You'll want something lighter to wear. Plus, we'll be going to the beach." Nero jumped up and ran to her room, starting to pack, while the others were a bit more hesitant.

"Come on, we don't have all day." The others complied and went to pack as well, leaving just Mozart, who was still playing piano.

"You too."

"What? I thought I would stay here again, with respect."

"No. You need a vacation more than any of us. No instruments, no scores, no orchestras. Just relax and experience another country's culture."

"But in combat-"

"So you won't fight and we'll watch over you. Come on, get up."

"...Very well."

 **X**

"We're here." Hayashi pointed out the window, everyone waking up. It was bad enough they had to go to the opposite side of the world that they should be on, but there was a 13 hour flight to Rio as well.

"Oh! It's lovely!" Jeanne gazed out along with the others.

"Well, every city has its problems. This one has had some issues with pollution, but it's a very desirable city for many people." After landing, they went to their hotel as usual, then began to unpack.

Hayashi changed into dark blue shorts, sandals, and a light green short sleeve summer shirt.

"I already have a car rental arranged, I just have to go get it. Why don't you guys get changed and ready while I'm out. We'll be going out to a beach party tonight, to get information, same as last time. We don't know what the servants look like, or even how many this time around. So we'll have to ask about anything out of the ordinary."

Before long, he returned with a red convertible. All of his servants stepped outside, dressed in various swimwear.

Nero wore a red and white striped bikini that tied around her neck and left the middle of her breasts exposed, not like a typical bikini. Over it she wore a long white gown wrapped around her, and had tied her hair into pigtails. She had tall sandals with red straps on her feet.

Altera had her hair tied into a ponytail, and wore a multi-colored bikini and short denim shorts, tall multi-colored sandals, and a bracelet of flowers around her wrist.

Jeanne wore a low cut black bikini, tall sandals with white straps, and a light blue thin sweatshirt. She also had a black hairband on her head.

Nightingale wore a tight yellow bikini with black trim that left much of the bottom of her breasts uncovered, giving anyone a nice view of underboob.

Nobunaga wore a black and gold bikini with frills on it, and had a red coat with a flame pattern that she wore over her shoulders.

Kato wore a maroon bikini and matching sandals, as you would expect. She wasn't much for being stylish. Simple was more her thing. She did tie her hair back into a long ponytail though.

Musashi wore a frilly white bikini with rainbow flowers painted on it, and put a few flowers in her hair.

Mozart wore a similar outfit to Hayashi, a purple summer shirt and brown shorts along with sandals.

Scathach wore a dark pink bikini with dark blue trim, and a thin, see-through pink skirt, plus black sandals with pink straps. She also put a pink flower in her hair.

"Do we look the part, Master?" Scathach asked with a bit of playfulness in her voice.

"What am I expected to say? Yeah, you're all hot. Get in." He motioned to the doors, and they got in, most of them blushing.

"Hey, so if anyone tries to hit on you, reject them. And if they won't leave you alone, get me."

"We aren't allowed to use force?" Scathach asked.

"We'd get in trouble, I'm sure there are either lifeguards or local police around. Or if not, someone would call them." They all nodded.

"Great. I'll be at the bar. Bartenders are always the go-to for information." He drove up alongside the beach parking and found a spot. They stepped out and began to go their separate ways, wandering around towards a bonfire and to people relaxing to ask about any suspicious characters. Hayashi went to the bar, as he said he would, and found a bartender there.

She wore a pink bikini that showed off her large breasts, and had a large scar down the middle of her face, almost going onto her eye.

"Well hello. What can I get you?" Her voice was somewhat deep and powerful.

"Martini with any kind of blue liquor you have."

"Coming right up." She began putting it together.

"I'm surprised you speak English. Portuguese is the most widely spoken language is this country by a large margin."

"Well, Rio is the country's biggest tourist city, so I have to know how to speak a few different languages. Here you are." She handed him his drink.

"This was the largest territory that the Portuguese Empire controlled, you know. It's no surprise that so many people visit each year." She told him.

"Yes. It was quite an impressive one. Though in terms of landmass, it paled in comparison to the Spanish, Mongolian, and British Empires."

"True. But in terms of power and influence, Portugal was up there. The Mongolian Empire did not last long after Genghis Khan's death."

"Frankly, I consider the Spanish Empire more successful than Britain. Despite how much more influence Britain had over the world, they were sometimes passive about governing. Spain knew what they were doing, and had a vast amount of wealth that they would keep bringing in. Do you know about the 1715 Treasure Fleet?"

"No…" she tilted her head in curiosity.

"Well, there was a treasure fleet of 12 ships heading back from the Caribbean to the Spanish mainland, and they were swept up by a hurricane, sinking to the bottom of the ocean. It was carrying millions in gold and silver, and some coins and artifacts still wash up on beaches today. And this was just one fleet, there were others."

"Indeed. Perhaps that was one of the reasons that it was known as the 'Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets.'"

"Yeah. Their Armada was invincible."

"Well, not quite. There was one person who defeated them."

"Oh?"

"Sir Francis Drake."

"Ah. That's right. Captain Drake defeated one of their armadas before it could even land, isn't that right?"

"Indeed. It's why she's known as the 'Woman Who Brought Down the Sun.'"

"Huh?"

"I'll be back shortly. I have to go grab a few things to make some more drinks from." She walked away, smiling at him before disappearing into a crowd of people.

"Hmm…"

 **X**

*Sigh*

"What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, Nero." The buxom blonde walked up to the other, even more buxom blonde.

"Jeanne, you've been acting strange for a while now. What's going on up in that head of yours?"

"I...how do you feel about Master?"

"You're in love with him?"

"NO! I mean…I don't think so…"

"Hm? What then?"

"It's just a feeling I have...you, and Nightingale, and Altera...I feel…"

"Jealous?"

"...I'm ashamed to say yes…"

"Ahhh, so that's it. You're not in love with Master, you're just attracted to him."

"Is that what it is?"

"Of course. What you want is a one-night stand."

"What's that?"

"It's where you go on a date with a guy, seduce him, have sex, and then leave in the morning. Or if you still want more, then stick around."

"..." Jeanne's entire face had become as red as a tomato.

" _Saintess, it's even simpler than that." Alter started a conversation within her psyche, grabbing Ruler's attention._

" _Master makes you wet, so you fuck Master. That's all there is to it."_

" _D-Don't say things like that!"_

"Jeanne, it's obvious that Master is into you too. I see the way he looks at you."

"Really…?"

"Really. So go over to him and use what you got. Shouldn't be too hard, right? It's hard for anyone not to stare at your assets, especially in a bikini."

"B-But what about all of you? Wouldn't it be wrong to make love to someone who you've already been intimate with yourselves?"

"Normally yes, but we've already cleared that with him and with each other. I mean, do you have any idea how many people Altera did when she was alive?"

"No-"

"A lot. And I've had my fair share of fruit tasting as well. Since you were a virgin in life, this will be your first time, yeah?"

"Y-Yes...why am I doing this?! Consummation should only happen after marriage!" Nero grabbed her shoulders and situated her.

"We're already dead. There is no more marriage for us. If you truly love Master, then go do it while you have the chance! After all, who knows what will happen when we reach the endgame of this journey. We may not see him again, or at least not for a long time."

"Oh...alright…" She began walking towards the bar where Hayashi was sitting. She looked back to Nero who squeezed her own breasts and winked, making Jeanne blush and roll her eyes.

"Um...Master…?" She slowly approached him, crossing her arms to push out her own giant mammaries.

"Huh? Jeanne? What is it?"

"May I...join you for a drink?"

"Be my guest." He patted the stool next to him and she sat down. He slid his drink to her and motioned to it.

"The bartender said she would be back in a bit, so just have some of mine for now."

"Alright." She tasted it and smiled.

"It's quite good."

"Yeah."

"Master, can I...confess something to you?"

"Of course. You can tell me anything. It better not be something to do with Ozymandias though…"

"It's not, I promise! I must tell you...I am attracted to you…" A moment of silence.

"You're much more straightforward than the others, aren't you?"

"D-Did I do something wrong…?!"

"I mean...most girls don't just say they're into a guy. They show it through their actions. It's okay though. I already knew, I was just waiting for you to make a move."

"What do you mean you already knew?"

"Florence told me that you were into me. I am too, but I didn't want to chance it when you weren't ready."

"Thank you...so...what now?"

"As touching as this is, it'll have to wait. Something about what that bartender said to me was strange. For now, I think we should head back to the hotel and sleep. I want to see if we can find her again tomorrow."

"Very well."

 **X**

"Master, wake up. I've detected a servant."

"Where?" Hayashi yawned.

"In the northern part of the country, in the jungle."

"Damn. We'll have to fly there again and then rent a boat the rest of the way. I'll make the preparations."

 **X**

They all got a boat big enough for them, and Hayashi leaned back on a lounge chair.

"Master? May I sit here?" Jeanne asked. Hayashi silently nodded and moved his legs, Jeanne sitting at the end of his chair. He glanced up at her, taking in her sweet smile. His gaze slowly lowered to her long legs and thick thighs, her plump ass and hips, her trimmed navel, and her huge breasts.

'Damn it...maybe I shouldn't have said to wait…' he cursed himself.

"Master, are you feeling alright? Your face is turning red...you're not sunburned, are you?" Jeanne asked sweetly, moving up towards him.

'She doesn't even realize that she's making him hard, does she?' Nero looked over to them.

"I'm fine...don't worry about me."

"If you're sure." She sat down again.

"Master, there seems to be another boat in the distance." Florence looked in the distance towards the direction they were heading.

Hayashi sat up and walked over to the other side of their boat, looking out.

"That's...not a boat. That's a ship! Like an old ship made of wood! Nobu, speed us up!"

"Yes!" She operated their lever on the motor, making them go faster. The ship did not move, and so they stopped just before it, examining it.

"So, you're here at last!" They looked up and a woman walked up to the edge, looking down at everyone.

It was the same woman from the night before, the bartender. Only she was wearing a completely different outfit. Tall black boots, white pants, a red coat held together at her mid-section with leather belts, a small black vest, a large black and turquoise coat with gold shoulder guards and red tassels over it, and a black pirate hat with red jewels on it on her head.

"So...you're a servant, after all."

"Oh...I was hoping for a more shocked reaction than that. I thought I was pretty good about remaining inconspicuous."

"You were doing well until your last sentence. You referred to Captain Drake as a female and called her 'The Woman Who Brought Down the Sun.' Drake is known as a male historically, unless you knew something no one else did, like say you were a Heroic Spirit."

She remained unfazed for a few moments, before smiling and sighing, then laughing out loud.

"You caught me! I didn't catch that myself! You're pretty sharp. Guilty as charged. I am Rider class, Francis Drake!"

"The first person to lead a complete circumnavigation voyage."

"Wait a minute, I thought Magellan was the first one to do that?" Florence asked.

"Magellan died part-way through, and another captain had to finish it. Drake completed it the whole way."

"Look, there's nothing I'd like more than to stand here and talk about how great I am, but I still have to obey my orders." Her ship started to move, swiftly traversing further into the jungle.

"Follow her." Hayashi told Nobu, who got them moving once again.

'Anytime now, Rider.' Drake looked behind her.

"Uhhh….Master? There's another ship behind us!" Nobu cried out.

"What?!" Sure enough, another one, not quite as big as Drake's but still a frigate, was closing in from behind, with other servants on it. One was a man with short black hair wearing a dark blue coat and various jewels, and a sharp blade attached to his hand. The other two were both female, one short with short white hair, wielding a saber and wearing a black and white overcoat. The other was tall and voluptuous with long blonde hair, carrying a blunderbuss over her shoulder, and wearing a red overcoat.

"Great. Now we have them on our tail. Wait a minute…that figurehead and those sails...it's the Queen Anne's Revenge. Blackbeard. Nero, you take the lever! Nobu, Kato, I want each of you facing one of the ships! You're our long ranged fighters."

"Yes, Master!"

"Jeanne, you stay in the middle. You'll need to get to either side to use your Noble Phantasm if something big comes at us."

"Of course!"

"Musashi, Scathach, you're to protect Jeanne. I hate to admit it, but she's pretty much our only defensive type servant, and so making sure she's not hurt is crucial."

"Roger." They both went and guarded her.

"Florence, Altera, on me and Mozart. You two aren't built for ranged fighting, so I want you to protect me instead. Keeping our contracts withheld is my biggest priority right now."

"My, what a smart Master. He approaches a situation strategically rather than head on, like most mages do." The blonde woman complemented, readying her rifle.

"And who might you two be?" Hayashi called up.

"Anne Bonny! And that's Mary Read!"

"Of course. More caribbean pirates." Hayashi grumbled.

"Let's try this." She fired her rifle at Hayashi, which looked like it would make its mark, but one of Nobu's bullets intercepted it and saved him.

"How dare you try to shoot Master!" she yelled up.

"Ooh, a feisty one!" Anne chirped excitedly, firing three more bullets that all went for Nobu this time. She fired her guns again, once again breaking them. The two continued to fire at each other while Drake's ship sped up, going further into the jungle.

"Nero, don't lose sight of her! Speed us up!"

"Umu, Master!" She did as told and they were able to get away from the rear ship.

"Kato, launch a rocket at them."

"Understood." Her back opened up and her launcher came up, firing a missile at their ship, blowing a hole through it and causing water to flood into the lower decks.

"Oh, damn…" Anne cursed, looking at Mary sadly.

"What do we care, it's not our ship." Mary said blandly, making Blackbeard throw a tantrum.

"Maybe not, but it was mine!"

"Can't you just summon it again?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Idiot…" Drake rolled her eyes.

"Kato, fire another one."

"Yes Master, preparing another rocket now."

"That girl is trouble." Mary looked down at her.

"I think it's that Master that's the trouble! He's giving her orders to shoot us!" Blackbeard complained.

"He's kind of cute though~ Do we have to kill him?" Anne asked sweetly.

"We're not supposed to kill him, airhead."

"You're so mean, Mary~ Archer~" She cooed, looking up to the crows nest.

"Right. I got it." Another gunshot could be heard, and Nobu once again had one of her guns shoot a bullet at it. This time though, the enemy's bullet ricocheted off of Nobu's, and then the ship, piercing right through Hayashi's shoulder.

"Master!" Nightingale tended to him.

"Heh. Bullseye."

"Nice shot!" Anne complimented.

"It was expected. I'm the best sharpshooter in the world for a reason." he chuckled. "Now for the others." He fired three more shots, all of them hitting Kato, Nobu, and Altera in the legs, making them fall over in pain.

"Argh! Who is that Archer?!" Jeanne yelled, casting Luminosite Eternelle around their boat.

"Well, from his attire...he's an outlaw from the wild west…" Hayashi groaned as Nightingale worked to remove the bullet.

"Jesse James?" he looked up towards the top of the second ship.

Jumping down onto the deck, the Archer revealed himself as a short young man with blonde hair, wearing black leather pants, brown boots, a gun holster strapped to his leg, a large white loose belt, an old white shirt, small brown tie, brown vest, silver wristguards, brown jacket, red ratty scarf, a cowboy hat, and using two old fashioned pistols with glowing red insides.

"Billy the Kid, actually. Maybe Jesse James was a bigger outlaw than me, but I'm more dangerous. I'm the best gunslinger to ever live." He angled his hat so that it covered his eyes, then smiled and drew his pistol again, firing three fast and powerful shots that broke through Ruler's shield.

"What?! That's impossible!"

"No it's not. There are definitely servants that can break through that. My Noble Phantasm fires shots at such a high velocity that it can shatter through it."

"There, Master. It's done." Florence threw the bullet overboard and began to heal his wound, then going over to the others and assisting.

"Thanks…" His own powers did the rest, and he stood up, ready to go after this new Archer.

"Unfortunately for you, we're already here. You took too long." Drake told them, as they entered an inner part of the jungle, where ruins of a giant city were, and a huge temple stood in the back.

"Well...we'll see you in a bit." Drake and her ship disappeared, along with Mary and Anne, leaving Blackbeard and Billy.

Landing the boat and getting out, they now stared at the enormous ship.

"Let's finish this now. My anger is ecstasy! I'll be going, I'll be going! Queen Anne's Revenge!" All of his cannons loaded and fired at them.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" Jeanne cast her shield again, protecting them from the assault.

"Want to jump in here?" Teach looked up at Archer, but he was already gone. "Huh…?"

"Too slow." Jeanne gasped and looked behind her, seeing Archer already aiming his gun at her.

"I don't think so!" Scathach swiped her lance at him, but he dodged it and jumped back, firing again, this time Nobu firing her own guns to intercept his.

"You want to do that rocket thing again?" Hayashi looked at Kato.

"I have a better idea. True Name Release, on standby. Wind gather...Kashin Mystic Code activate! Mechanical Illusionary Art- Bull Swallowing! Evil Wind Death Storm!" Her Noble Phantasm blew the ship away, as well as Teach, sending him back to the Throne.

"That seemed a little too easy." Hayashi said.

"Well, his spirit origin was not very strong. As far as servants go, he was a joke."

"I see."

"We can also make quick work of that Archer as well by overwhelming him with numbers."

"No need for that. Gate of…"

"No, not yet." Hayashi stopped Scathach. "We don't want to risk them seeing our best move before we've even begun."

"Then what would you recommend?" She asked, lowering her spear.

"Use yours." He looked at Nobu.

"Sure, Master." She grinned. "Without fail! I am prepared to expose corpses to the Three Thousand Worlds. Demon of the Sixth Heaven's roaring command! Three Thousand Worlds!" Her 3000 rifles appeared behind her and all fired simultaneously at the cowboy.

"Heh...I've got myself in a real mess now…" He dropped his gun and allowed himself to be defeated, dispersing into golden particles.

They all sighed in relief, and looked over to the temple, where other Aztec-like structures were.

"Where is this, exactly?" Jeanne asked.

"I'm not sure. It looks like an old Aztec city, but the Aztec Empire wasn't anywhere near Portugal."

"This is El Dorado, the city of gold."

A male voice. Hayashi didn't have any male servants, so they instantly looked to the left, where another man came out of the jungle.

He had the look of a Native American, wearing red and tan striped pants, a native american blue garment, a native american green cloak over it, and ceremonial feathers and horns in his hair, with blue and white face paint, and holding a knife.

"And you are…?" he asked.

"Caster, Geronimo."

"So then all of you servants are from the Americas."

"Indeed we are."

"You said this was El Dorado. The City of Gold?"

"Yes."

"Why is it in Brazil? It was an Aztec legend."

"It in fact is not the real El Dorado, if the city even exists. It is a Reality Marble."

"So that means that your leader, whoever it is, is a servant closely related to the Aztecs."

"...Yes."

"So tell me then...why are you all the way out here in South America?"

"Haven't you already figured it out? Why do you think you're out here instead of going to Japan?"

"Because you're stalling for time. With Scathach contracted with me now, your superiors lost a good amount of magic power needed for their ritual."

"Precisely. We assumed that she would inform you of our plans. It looks like we were right after all. But so many servants from the Throne have already been summoned. and so one of the only groups left were servants from the Americas, and here we are. That's all there is to it."

"Hmph. Fine then. Let's get this over with. Scathach."

"Yes, Master." Geronimo threw his knife, and Scathach knocked it aside with her spear, but felt an electrical shock when she did so, yelping.

"You'll find that I'm not an ordinary fighter. I'm a Caster for a reason. I can channel the powers of the spirits in my attacks."

"Is that all your spirits can do? It was a surprise, but it felt like little more than a static shock to me. Allow me to demonstrate what a real strike feels like." She sped over to him, roundhousing kicking him and sending him flying across the ground.

"Rggh…" He recovered, and kneeled down, closing his eyes. "I guess I should use my trump card. Elemental Spirit, the Sun! Lend power to me for a while, and give it now! The great mischief...Tsago Degi Naleya!" Around him, a green magic circle formed and surrounded him with an aura, before an ethereal golden coyote stood above the servant, giving him power. Hayashi's team felt rising heat and looked up at the sun, which had become brighter.

"...Move!" Hayashi dashed out of the way and used command seals to make the others teleport to his location, dodging a blast of fire from above.

"Was that the sun?! Why does the sun hate us now?!" Nero cried.

"I assume it was his Noble Phantasm…" Hayashi looked at him, standing back up, his wound from earlier healed, and holding himself up more.

"You have sharp instincts, Mage. In my culture, the coyote stole the sun's tobacco, so when it materializes, the spirit of the sun tracks it and tries to hunt it. However, at the same time, the coyote is a guardian spirit of my people, and so I am granted its strength." He ran towards them, preparing his knife.

"I don't think so." Nero clashed with him, her sword overpowering his smaller blade. However, he let go of it, and caught it with his other hand, stepping back to avoid the follow through of her blade, then forward again and cutting her, this time his powers full on electrocuting her. He kicked her away and went straight for Hayashi this time.

"If I take down the commander, the rest will follow suit!" He flipped the knife around so he held it forwards, and prepared to strike him.

"Would have been a great plan, if you hadn't looked me right in the eye and beelined for me." Hayashi caught the knife easily, and kicked the servant away, disarming him. He then tossed the knife, impaling him, and nodding at Nero, who ran towards him and sliced, defeating him for good.

"Nice work. Let's keep going. I want to hurry up and be done here."

"Something awaiting you back at the hotel?" Scathach asked.

"Yes, actually. And the sooner I get it, the happier I'll be. So come on." They walked further towards the temple in the distance, eventually stopping.

"Is something the matter, Master? Why have we stopped?" Musashi asked.

"I feel like we're being followed." Hayashi turned around, seeing a giant pair of boobs staring him in the face.

"Scathach?"

"Yes?" She asked from over to the right.

"Nevermind, I guess it's not you." He took a step back, finding Anne's red eyes staring down into his. She was standing on her toes, but went back down, becoming eye level with him.

"Anne."

"My, hello again!" She jumped backwards, Mary jumping out from a tree nearby and running to her side.

"I guess it's your turn now."

"indeed. I'm afraid we don't have quite the amazing feats that some of you do. After all, we're only pirates; we relied on weapons that were man-made, not ancient and mystic ones."

"Anne! Why would you tell them that?!" Mary asked.

"It's not hard to figure out ourselves. You're using a sword and a rifle." Hayashi told them.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Scathach, Kato. Want to take care of them?"

"Roger, Master."

"Anne, we'd better do something quick." Mary began to slash around at all of them, faster than they could block or predict, and Anne jumped back, taking aim with her rifle, shooting at all of them.

"...Murderous Intent." Hayashi's powers healed him, and he used his new skill to knock away all of the bullets before they made contact, then prepared to go after the servants themselves.

"Preparations to bust through are complete!"

"Here, this is the dance of the pirates!"

"This time, I'll take the lead!" Anne was able to intercept him and hit him across the head with the butt of her rifle. Mary began slashing, and the two continuing hitting him before jumping over to opposite sides. Anne fired a blue beam of energy out of her gun, and Mary took out a cannon that she did the same with. The beams crossed and severely injured him. Though his powers healed him, his skill wore out, and so his exhaustion kicked in as well.

"Damn...this is not how I wanted things to end up…"

"Gae Bolg Alternative!" Scathach came in and pierced Mary, sending her flying upwards and crying out.

"MARY!" Another Gae Bolg was thrown up at her, penetrating through her body and killing her.

"Then I also…" Anne looked down at herself, disappearing.

"Sorry, Mage. Maybe next time you'll get lucky and summon us." She smiled at Hayashi, before joining her companion.

Everyone sighed and Altera tended to Hayashi.

"Come on, Master, we're almost done."

"I'm gonna need a few minutes…" He fell back, breathing heavily.

"Master, you shouldn't have used that ability right away. You'll be exhausted now!" Scathach scolded.

"I needed to...save you from getting hurt…"

"Master, we appreciate the thought, but...we're servants, and we're meant to get injured in these fights." Nightingale crossed her arms.

"I don't care…you were alive once...and I love all of you...I won't stand to see you get hurt when I can save you."

"Master…" Jeanne looked at him solemnly.

"I'm okay." He stood up, and they helped him to move towards the temple again.

"They stopped once again when coming face to face with Drake and her ship.

"Here we are again, Hayashi Tsukamoto. Only this time is the last. Tell me, are you fully prepared to fight an armada?"

"An armada?"

"Indeed. Perhaps I should show you now that I've told you. Here is where my life stretches! Remember my name as you go! Temeroso el Draque! I am the woman who set the sun! Now, you rascals, it's time! The King of Ghosts, Night of the Storm, this is the beginning of the Wild Hunt! Golden Wild Hunt!" Twenty other smaller ships materialized behind hers, and hers floated up into the air, all pointing down to where Hayashi's team were standing.

"Well, what do you think? Just wait for this next part!" She twirled her pistols in her hand before catching them and pointing outward, the ships preparing to launch an assault.

"Fire!" At her command, all of the ships launched cannonballs and bullets towards them, but the flagship unleashed a huge turquoise beam of energy.

"Jeanne? Do you think you can protect us from another attack like that?"

"Not all of it!"

"In that case, I will use Gate of Skye. Use your Noble Phantasm anyway to protect the rest of you from getting sucked in." Scathach told her. Jeanne nodded and did so, while the Scottish warrior-queen stepped outside of the barrier.

'You asked before if we were prepared to fight an armada? Well here is your answer, King of Ghosts. Gate of Skye!" A massive gate with ancient Celtic carvings on it appeared, and began to suck in everything in the surrounding area, the bombardment that was just unleashed included.

"Tch…"

"I think you were a bit overconfident before, no? You are a seafarer, and so you would obviously have the advantage on the water. But with all of us now freely able to use our abilities, you don't match up so well, do you?" The gate closed, taking all of the ships with it. Drake fell down, landing on the ground across from them.

"I am still enough to give you a challenge!" She aimed her guns and began firing rapidly, prompting Scathach to return to inside the barrier.

"Hmph, two firearms is nothing to me. Three Thousand Worlds!" Nobu used her Noble Phantasm, creating her own personal army of guns that all pointed at Drake, firing simultaneously. Despite taking all of them head on, she was still standing, though heavily injured.

"Oho...perhaps you are the real deal after all." Jeanne released her barrier, and Nobu stepped forward.

"Do you know what the difference between us is, woman? You brought down a nation, but I conquered one." Nobu stabbed her with her sword and shot her chest with her personal rifle, defeating the servant.

"You...will still lose to her…" were her final words as she disappeared.

"To her...I guess there's only one left now. Let's get this over with." At last, they reached the temple, looking up all the steps to find someone sitting at the top.

"Oh! You're here at last~!" She jumped down straight to the ground, skipping all the steps, and landing with a loud thud, but taking no damage whatsoever.

She wore an outfit that had some similarities to Geronimo's, but was obviously more ancient and had a spanish look to it. It was Aztec, and clearly this was the owner of the El Dorado Reality Marble and the one who Drake said was going to defeat them. She wore brown sandals, brown shin guards, a maroon skirt with orange trim and a dark green talisman, a blue sash, golden wrist armor, a bright red tank top with yellow tassels, and a golden headdress, with teal tree leaves coming out of it above her falling down against her blonde hair, kept together in three long ponytails, and also to the sides of her face. She also wore an Aztec necklace, and carried a spiked club and a shield with lots of red and blue tassels hanging off of it. She also had a blue cape with a tan pattern on it.

"What's your true name? I'm curious." Hayashi looked her up and down.

"Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec God of Wind and Wisdom. I'm a Rider class Servant~"

"A God, huh? I thought Divine Spirits couldn't be summoned by the Grail?"

"They can if their powers are weakened enough. We're definitely still top-class though~"

"And can you compete with several other top-class servants at once? Scathach, Altera."

"Yes, Master!" They both said. They both grabbed their weapons and dashed at her, but she jumped up and avoided them in time, then surprising Altera by landing with her legs around her neck, then using her strength to flip her onto her back, backflip off of her and kick Scathach away.

"Damn, she's got some leg strength."

"Hehe, now watch what else I can do!" She gripped her club tightly and clashed with Musashi, overpowering her and kicking her away in the same fashion, then turning to the others.

"I don't think so!" Hayashi tried to intercept her, but with his power's still weakened, she was easily able to grab his ankle and toss him aside.

"Let's see how you handle this!" Nobu summoned two rifles and fired them one after another, but Quetzalcoatl's shield stopped them cold.

"Laus Saint Claudius!" Nero ignited her sword and tried to slash through her shield and get to her, but she got away again.

"Take her all at once!" Hayashi yelled, using a command seal.

"Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!"

"Teardrop Photon Ray!"

"Three Thousand Worlds!"

"Mechanical Illusionary Art- Bull Swallowing!"

"Ishana Daitenshou!"

"Gae Bolg Alternative!"

"Quetzalcoatlus!" Rider called out another name similar to her own, and suddenly a giant roar sounded through the sky.

"WATCH OUT!" Hayashi dove down onto the ground, and the others gasped when a massive dinosaur flew down towards them. Quetzalcoatl backflipped into the air and landed on the neck of the dinosaur and began to fly it around.

"Master, what the hell is that?!" Nero yelled.

"A dinosaur called the Quetzalcoatlus, named after her, and the biggest flying creature to ever exist on earth…"

"Indeed. Thanks to the Grail, I can now summon my pet as a Noble Phantasm, and ride him~! And also…" She raised her hands to the sky, and thunder clouds began to form, as the wind picked up speed. As the thunder crashed and lightning struck the ground, she smiled down at them on her mount.

"I suppose it's time to take you down for real!" She waved her hands to direct the winds into a tornado, lifting them all up into the air.

"Master! This is insane!" Scathach yelled.

"Use your Noble Phantasms once you get close to her!"

"Not going to happen! You're not high enough! I am a snake! I am a flame! Xiuhcoatl Toreada!" Her body became surrounded in a flame-like aura, and she dashed over to each one of them, kicking them down towards the ground at an extremely high speed, and when arriving at Hayashi, putting him in a headlock and falling down towards the ground, pile-driving him into the earth with a huge explosion.

"MASTER!" They all yelled, wincing from their own wounds. It's asking a lot of a human to survive a Noble Phantasm point-blank, even one as strong as Hayashi.

"Ughhh…" He groaned, slowly coming to as Rider stood up and stepped back, getting back on to her mount as it flew down again.

"She's way stronger than the other ones, that's for sure… I think I have a concussion…" He sat up, looking up at her flying around.

"I've grown tired of this...it's time to finish you all off. Once your Servants are dead, then I'm taking you right back to Angra~! Turns out he didn't need to go through his ritual after all! Now then! I am the Sun! I am the one who raises up my civilization like no other! Incinerate everything in your path! Piedra Del Sol!"

The top of her temple crumbled, and out of it, an Aztec megalith rose up, and a light green aura surrounded it, and a vision of planetary orbital patterns surrounded it. A large burst of sunlight blinded them, and solar winds raged around the area, tearing the jungle apart.

"Master, if we let this continue, the entire Amazon, and maybe even some cities will be disintegrated by these conditions!" Nero cried out.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" Jeanne cast it around them, protecting them from the attacks, at least for the time being.

"Tell me you have a plan!" They all looked at him, and he looked down before looking up with a determined expression.

"Scathach, use Gate of Sky to absorb the weather that it's putting out. I don't want any of you to go outside of Jeanne's Noble Phantasm. I'll fight Quetzalcoatl myself."

"Master, no! You can't defeat her on your own!" Jeanne cried.

"I have to. I won't put you guys in jeopardy any longer. I'm not just fighting for myself anymore anyway. You said it yourself, that if we just leave these servants, then they're going to take innocent lives and destroy cities just to draw me out. And I can't have that on my conscience. Despite everything that the Mage's Association has done to me, I can't let the world end! I'm fighting for all of you as well."

They hesitated, looking at him as if they were questioning his decision.

"SCATHACH, DO IT NOW!"

"Y-Yes, Master! Gate of Skye!" The entrance to the Land of Shadows appeared above them, and began sucking in what Piedra del Sol was spitting out, putting the two Noble Phantasms at a standstill.

"The End of the Four Nights!" Hayashi used a new skill that gave off a dark red aura around himself. His red lightning sparked up again all around him and in his eyes, giving off a red glow.

"A skill that resets all parameters to their original form. My strength is back...Murderous Intent." He felt himself become invigorated again, dashing out of Jeanne's barrier and up at Rider, faster than ever before, avoiding the two dangerous and currently employed Noble Phantasms along the way.

"Oh?" She gasped as he went past her and came down even faster, using all of his strength to crash his foot into the dinosaur's head, sending it flying to the ground and disappearing as Rider fell down, landing nearby, Hayashi landing opposite her.

"You're very different than what Angra's memories of you are, Hayashi Tsukamoto." She looked at him angrily.

"I'm not the same person I was 3 years ago. Now come on. Let's end this, once and for all." They dashed at each other, and he dodged her strikes with her club, but retaliated by knocking him back with her shield, then ready to bash him away. He jumped up and kicked her in the face, then prepared to finish everything.

"You know what's funny? You actually helped me out here. Your powers allow you to control the weather, and where there's thunderclouds, there's lightning, the element that I most excel at using." He smirked, gathering up electricity from within himself and even the lightning bolts that struck the ground, and blasting a massive beam at the sundial, obliterating it, then doing the same to her, electrocuting her to the point of paralysis, before running up and impaling her with his hand. Her face showed a shocked expression, no pun intended, before she disappeared and went back to the Throne. The weather disappeared, and Scathach and Jeanne undid their Noble Phantasms. The Reality Marble ceased to exist as well.

As expected, Hayashi fell backwards, his use of Murderous Night draining him for the rest of the day until his inner powers would heal him. Gasping, all of them looked over to him and smiled.

After a few minutes, the others decided to go make sure the boat was intact, and Jeanne was left to look after Hayashi. And he was glad that they were alone.

"Jeanne…"

"Yes, Master?"

"It's just you and me tonight. I don't want to do anything, or even think about doing anything...except you." he chuckled, making the french girl blush, but smile and nod at him.

"Yes. I'd like nothing more."

"Oh, so you have as dirty of a mind as Altera does, do you? The Saint's not such a Saint anymore, is she?" he teased.

"Hey! I am NOT as bad as her! Maybe it's just Alter's influence!"

"Yeah, right. You're two different people. Nice try." The two laughed, and the others came back over and helped him back to the boat, where they rode back in to Rio.

 **X**

When they returned to the hotel, Jeanne and Hayashi went into the master bedroom, and she took off her hoodie, but left her bikini on. Hayashi hung his coat up, took off his jacket and shoes, and laid on the bed.

"Well...now what?" she asked, blushing slightly.

"First, let's get the others out of here so we won't be interrupted." He stood up and opened the door.

"Hey, Jeanne and I want alone time. Go somewhere else."

"Master, be nicer." Jeanne looked at him in disbelief.

"Please?" He added, making the blonde facepalm. They nodded, going out towards the hotel lobby.

Hayashi sighed and went back onto the bed, looking at the object of his desires.

"Master, I'm not very good at this...will you help me?"

"Nope. You're all on your own."

"What?!"

"Oh yeah. I said I was done for the day. Every time that I had sex with the others, I was recovering from injuries, and still put strain on my body to take the lead, except for with Altera. Now I finally don't have that problem, and it's time to give someone else a turn."

"B-But I'm a virgin! I don't know what to do!"

"Do something sexy."

"I JUST SAID I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"Come on, of all the cities we've gone too, haven't you picked up on the mannerisms of others? Observed modern behavior, at least a little bit?"

"Well...yes…"

"And what have you learned? Especially from our time in Monte Carlo."

"I believe...girls sway their hips?" she asked, beginning to do so slowly as she made her way to him, making him light up.

"There you go. Now then, once you get to the bed, men sometimes like to be straddled by their partners."

"And do you?"

"With your ass and legs? Hell yes." She exploded into a full-faced blush. She reached the bed and got on, sitting on top of him.

"What else do you like?"

"How about feeling your skin and not just on top of my clothes?"

"A-Alright…" She unbuttoned his pants, and he assisted her in pulling them down, as well as the rest of his clothes. While she moved them off the bed, he sat up and unclipped her top, making her cry out and cover her breasts as they bounced out.

"Master, how dare you?!" She turned around, blushing, still covering them.

He lifted his hand and one of his command seals lit up and disappeared, making her slowly take her hands away, revealing her large nipples and enormous boobs.

"How the hell are you still a virgin with a body like this?"

"I was just a simple farm girl before I ran off and joined a war, Master. I didn't have much time to think about romance." She looked away, face still red from him staring at her breasts.

"Alright, lose the bottoms too." She hesitantly stood up and took off her last remaining article of clothing, leaving her naked as the day she was born. Sitting back down on his legs, she reached out and grabbed his manhood, beginning to stroke it up and down.

"Master, you're already erect…"

"I've been waiting to do this since I summoned you...you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever known."

"Master, you're embarrassing me…" she smiled thinly, stopping to breath for a moment.

"Almost anything embarrasses you…" he rolled his eyes. "I hope you realize that you have an amazing body, Jeanne."

"Yes...I didn't really know until you summoned me, but as I walk around modern cities more and more, lots of men stop to look at me and admire my...assets."

"They shouldn't do that, especially since I'm with you."

"I suppose not, but it doesn't really bother me unless they start to pursue me further."

"I suppose that's fair…"

"Being like this isn't always easy, though...sometimes I envy Archer and Assassin, as when they fight they are not weighed down by breasts like mine, making for quicker movement. The same can be said for my butt when I try to wear a modern pair of pants or a skirt. It can be difficult to find a size just right for me. I can understand why Florence opts for a uniform most of the time."

"She was in the military, that's just her style. You should feel proud; most girls only dream of a body like yours." Jeanne began to stroke faster, making Hayashi moan and shoot his seed into her mouth, her eyes twitching when she swallowed.

"Bitter…" she shuddered.

"Alright...now it's your turn." He grabbed her hands and pulled her forward, making her insert herself onto his dick, wincing a bit as she did.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I'll be okay. The first time just hurts a bit." She began to go up and down, somewhat faster than before, already gaining experience. Hayashi, wanting to tease the girl as much as he possibly could, started playing with her nipples with his thumbs, making her try to bite down moans and gasps as often as they arose.

Eventually though, she couldn't keep it in anymore as Hayashi began to flick them.

"Kyaaa~! Master, why must you insist on playing with me like this?! I thought it would be straightforward!"

"I never said it would be straightforward." He smirked, sitting up and capturing her lips with his own, making her blush even more and close her eyes.

Breaking away for breath, the two stared at each other before Hayashi carefully lifted her up and put her back on the bed.

"Master? What is it? Didn't you want me to continue?"

"Yeah, but the other way." He turned her around and began thrusting into her ass, making her yelp while her cheeks jiggled and slapped with each push.

As he continued, he noticed that her cries got softer, and her skin began to turn more and more pale.

"Umm...Jeanne…?" He got no response, and pulled out of her, tapping her on the shoulder, to no avail. As her hair turned white, he realized what had happened.

"Alt-" He was silenced by suddenly being slammed down against the bed, her hands around his throat, and her golden eyes staring into his seductively.

"My other half is too timid for this kind of activity, Master. I hope you don't mind if I take over?"

"No. Not at all." he grinned, as her hands loosened and ran down his chest slowly.

"That's what I thought." She started kissing him again, and he began to stroke her hair. Alter went down on him with her breasts, slightly smaller than Ruler's, but still huge, and began to go up and down on his manhood, shoving it between her mountains.

Alter was certainly rougher than her counterpart, and while Hayashi could appreciate that, there was also something about the timid and shy Jeanne that attracted him to her. Also, despite them being two halves of the same person, Ruler's assets still seemed bigger to him for some reason. Maybe there was something hot about an embarrassed girl having huge tits and a round ass practically bursting out of her pants.

Alter continued to take charge, after being done with her breasts, going back down on him with her pussy.

"Don't tell me...she's asleep?" Hayashi chuckled.

"No. But she's tired. She's lying down covered in cum." Alter snickered.

"That's hot."

"Am I not hot enough for you? We have the same body…"

"Not really. Her tits are bigger. I can tell these things."

"Like hell they are!" She started going down on him faster, and pushing him down, making sure she was doing all the work. She seemed to have a more annoyed expression now because of his remark about Jeanne. She couldn't stand any part of the Holy Maiden being superior to her, especially with someone else telling her that to her face.

They sped up, both groaning and finishing, Jeanne screaming out in ecstasy.

"You're certainly louder than her, that's for sure."

"Oh, shut up." She said, blushing and catching her breath. "The saintess will be taking a break for a few days, since she's been pretty active lately. You're going to have to get used to my body." She smirked, lying down on top of him.

"I'm fine with it. You're both beautiful. Every single one of you is." She blushed at that.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow, and give Lorelei a report when we get back."

"Alright." The two quickly drifted off to sleep.

 **X**

Things went pretty smoothly early in the day, as he said they would, but his own fate was about to be sealed...by himself.

As they returned to London, they stopped by his house to drop off their luggage, then went to the Mage's Association.

"Where is she?" The two women at the Clock Tower's Administrative Office looked up at Hayashi.

"One of the outdoors practice fields, teaching combat to a student class."

"Thank you." Heading to the aforementioned place, Hayashi saw her, Zelretch, Shirou and Rin teaching upperclassmen.

Lorelei noticed him quickly and gave a subtle nod.

"Let's do some practical training. Pick a partner and spread out. Ms. Tohsaka, Master Emiya, and Lord Zelretch will supervise you. I have some business I need to take care of." She went away from the others, up to Hayashi.

"Are you here to deliver your report?"

"Yeah. Everyone in the Amazon was taken care of."

"I see. And who was in this group?"

"Edward Teach, Billy the Kid, Geronimo, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Francis Drake, and Quetzalcoatl."

"The Aztec God?"

"Goddess, actually. She was pretty strong."

"I heard."

"What?"

"I was testing you. I heard about your exploits."

"How? And why do you need to test me?"

"I had someone follow you and watch. Every time since you started this journey, there's been someone watching your battles. And I tested you to make sure that they weren't reporting false information and that your own experiences coincide with their reports."

"You've had someone following me since the beginning?" He growled.

"Of course I have. I'm not an idiot. The object of your vengeance shows up again and I'm supposed to trust that you'll abide by our rules, my rules, perfectly, without avoiding them?"

"Yes. Because I don't really have a choice, do I? I can't afford to run around with Enforcers on my back while there's servants at my front."

"No, you can't. And that's our agreement. We can't afford to have someone as powerful as you go rogue."

At this point, as their voices were beginning to gain some volume and malice to them, the others were taking notice and watching.

"Do you really even feel bad? About what happened to me?"

"Wha-?! Of course I do! No one should ever have to go through that!"

"No, they shouldn't. But do you still believe what the others do? That I brought it upon myself by summoning him? And afterwards, being partially fused with a servant, but still working with you? Tell me, just how many strings did you have to pull to convince Zelretch and the Director to keep me alive? Or was it none, since you all were so keen as using me as a guinea pig?!"

A swift slap to his face from her stopped his outburst, catching him off guard, as well as the rest of them.

"Hayashi!" Rin stepped forward.

"Master!" His servants became concerned, and Altera even summoned her weapon. He shook his head and put a hand out to them, making them stopped, and Zelretch stopped Rin.

"This is healthy. They need to get it out." He told her.

"You all should go back inside." Lorelei told them.

"No. There's no need. I'm not going to let this escalate any further. Unlike you, I don't have a compulsive need to get the last word in all the time." He turned and began walking away.

"Hayashi, just one more thing." He stopped immediately.

"I know about Piedra Del Sol. It's good that you stopped it, but you can't let a technique like that get out of hand or be used in the first place. Next time, try to finish the fight quicker."

The instant she finished her sentence, he spun around and punched her in the face with all of his strength, sending her flying back against one of the Clock Tower's wall, everyone else gasping.

"Hayashi!" Rin tried to go up to him, but again, Zelretch stopped her.

The servants all stepped back without a word, knowing not to interfere when he got like this.

"So now you're telling me how to do my job?!"

She slowly sat up and wiped the blood from her nose, glaring at him.

"You know, maybe if you didn't sit around at your desk all day and actually went out into the field once in a while, you would start to know what it's like to be in my shoes, fighting against Servants every day! But until then, don't you dare lecture me on how I should perform during these encounters! It was your idea to put me on this assignment anyway, or have you forgotten?!"

"Of course I haven't forgotten, you idiot. Do you want to know why I really put you on this assignment? It's so that I can keep an eye on you. After all, if I didn't, then who's to say if you would go off on your own after Avenger or not?"

"You're right, I would have gone after him of my own accord. But you would still have my trust. By putting me onto the assignment myself, you've broken our pact, because you did it to watch me like some sort of lab experiment!"

"What was I supposed to do? This is your first job since the accident, your first job in 3 years. I couldn't afford to have anything happen to you. To have your powers overtake you again."

"Oh, really? I don't think it would be as bad as you're making it out to be. Let's suppose I do lose myself. What happens? Zelretch comes after me using Kaleidoscope, takes me out, and I'm secured for probing by your scientists to get my powers and try to give them to other mages. Did I miss anything?"

"...No." She looked away.

"I thought so. At a certain point, you have to draw the line, Lorelei. My powers shouldn't be harnessed as a weapon, they should die with me. And even if you do succeed and put them into other people, what would happen if they went through the same thing? Multiple mages tearing up the city the way I did would be a pretty negative blowback on the Association's reputation."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take, if it means that we can eventually master them. Imagine having Masters whose abilities are equal to their Servants participate in future Holy Grail Wars! The advantages we could have to getting and using the Grail!"

"THE GRAIL IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!" he roared. "What happened in Fuyuki 13 years ago...do you know why it happened?! It's because Angra Mainyu has been fused with the Grail for 8 decades! The Einzberns fucked with it, and summoned him instead of a Berserker, and when he was defeated, his darkness corrupted the entire thing, making for the summoning of Anti-Heroes, and eliminating wish-granting as a prize. Because when five servants are defeated, the grail's black mud overtakes its pure properties, and upon the winner making a wish, the city that it's in will simply burn to the ground!"

"..."

"I've had enough of your bullshit. You clearly don't know as much as I do, and so I clearly don't need your help anymore. I'll make you a deal. You think you can make better decisions and do my job better than I can? Then show me what you've got. You and me, one on one, no weapons. Just spells and hand to hand. I yield first and I'll take back everything I said and follow your orders unquestionably until the end. But if you yield first, then I'm out of here. And I won't come back. Deal?"

"Vice-Director, you can't go through with this…" Rin mumbled sadly.

"Fine. I accept. Don't worry, Rin, I may be a bit rusty, but I can definitely beat him."

"Big talk. Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" Hayashi threw his coat off of him and cracked his knuckles.

"Very well." She also unbuttoned her coat and dropped it, wearing a plain white blouse underneath.

"On the count of 3. One, two...three!" The two dashed at each other and began blocking each punch they threw at each other. Hayashi grabbed her next blow and wrapped his other arm around her, snapping his fingers so that a blast of flames exploded point blank.

She looked at the nearby fountain and her eyes flashed pink, casting a spell that made the water come out of the fountain and splash on them, dousing the fire. He went in and tried to hit her again, but she avoided the attack and kicked him in the jaw, sending him reeling back.

"How was that?"

"I wasn't trying." He wiped the blood from his mouth and got ready to fight again.

"Funny. Neither was I." Hayashi readied himself again, this time casting an earth spell that let him kick large pieces of rock and mud at her. She concentrated energy in her fingertips and cut through the projectiles easily. Hayashi gave her no time to prepare herself, creating wind blades on his arms, and slashing at her, succeeding in cutting her across her stomach once, but she then caught both of his hands, cast the same spell on her legs, and hoisted herself up, kicking him away, and using a combination of wind and reinforcement to hover in the air.

"Wind is my natural affinity. You really think you're going to outdo me in it?"

"Well, wind isn't really my specialty. You know what is though?" He charged up a torrent of electricity on his body, and sped to her much faster, jumping up and flipping down to kick her into the ground.

She growled and got up, casting a stronger wind spell that began tearing up the ground. The two clashed with each other again, punching each other multiple times, but with Lorelei having a clear lead. She swept Hayashi's feet out from under him, and stomped his head into the ground, then kicking him in the face, knocking him away.

"Had enough yet, you stubborn brat?" She said condescendingly.

Hayashi closed his eyes and exhaled as his wounds were automatically healed. He stood up and looked at her.

"I have the advantage. You may have had someone spying on me all this time, but it's different when used up close." He activated his powers, and crossed the distance between them instantly, choke slamming Lorelei against one of the far walls.

"Khh…" She gripped his wrist, trying to get him off, but he was too strong. She looked at him with her Mystic Eyes, sending him flying backwards and allowing her to breathe again, gathering spheres of fire and water in her hands, wind around her body, and earth at her feet. She flew at him, firing blasts of fire and water consecutively, making him block, then kicking him with her earth and slicing him up with her wind. He jumped back up and knocked her away again, his wounds healing.

"Fine then….you brought this upon yourself. Verg Avesta!" He sliced his own arms, legs, and torso, sending blood flying everywhere, the same damage being reflected on Lorelei's body. They both cried out in pain, and as she fell to the ground, Hayashi's wounds once again healed, but he still felt an intense burning throughout his body every time he moved. This had never happened before. Nightingale was right, his body was getting worse and worse. He pushed through it and ran to her, getting down so that he was sitting on her stomach and beginning to punch her in the face over and over again.

"When will you ever learn?! The more you butt in with me, the more you ruin things! So let me give you some advice...don't send spies out to watch me!" He broke her nose with his next hit.

"Don't tell me how to do my damn job if you can't do it yourself!" Another hit made her fade in and out of consciousness.

"And lastly, if you ever need help, don't come to me for it anymore!" A final hit finally knocked her out. Both of them were covered in blood, and Hayashi could barely breathe. He slowly stood up and retrieved his coat, beginning to walk away back towards the city. His servants gulped and hesitantly followed him.

"Hayashi." He stopped but didn't turn around.

"Are you going to fight me now too?" he said in a low, threatening tone.

"No. But I assume you know what this means. Everything you just did."

"...Yes. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. But she had it coming." He walked away with his party as Zelretch sighed.

"Bring her in for treatment right away. She might need to be put on life support."

"But what about-?!"

"Rin. Leave him. You won't make him feel any better right now." She looked away sadly.

 **X**

"Master, why did you do that to her? I don't think she deserved it…" Nero asked timidly.

"She's been manipulating me for long enough, and now I find out that she's been sending spies after us so that we can always be within her reach? Not anymore. Pack your things, we're going to have to move somewhere else. This house was given to me by her, so the Association is entirely aware of where it is."

"We're not just going to burn it down, are we?" Scathach asked.

"No, of course not. But we need to go somewhere where they won't think to look, which unfortunately means we can't stay at any of the cities I went to last time I left. That limits us…but I have an idea. I didn't go to Japan last time, and in the forests of Fuyuki, Illyasviel's old castle should still be standing and untouched. It might still be damaged from a few years ago, but we should be able to rebuild it quickly. They'd never think I'd go there, especially after fighting Kiritsugu and Irisviel. We'll stay in Munich one night along the way as a stop point. Go quickly."

 **X**

"How is she?"

"She won't be awake for another few days. I'll be in charge while she's out of commission, and the first thing I need to do is take action against Hayashi. That's not just for me, but for the Association itself. I'll be had by our officials if I sit here and do nothing."

"Lord Zelretch, is this really how you feel about Hayashi? That he's a criminal that needs to be stripped of free will so we can use his abilities as a weapon?" Rin gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

"Not entirely, no. In truth, not even Lorelei views him as such, though she is a bit misguided. The biggest problem we have now is that he no longer trusts us, and I don't want him suddenly causing havoc throughout the world!"

"Who do you think he is?! He's not some kind of monster, he's only fighting against Avenger to help save the world! He doesn't want to harm citizens!"

"Maybe so, but who's to say that he has a true grasp on his powers yet? Perhaps he only uses them sparingly so as not to bring out his other personality."

"Make the right choice. Please."

"Why do you care so much about him, Ms. Tohsaka? He did not take part in the previous war like you did, and you only met him when you joined the Association. Don't tell me it's a love affair?"

"Of course not! But, well...the last time someone interacted with Angra Mainyu, Fuyuki was burned to the ground with only one survivor. Hayashi almost did the same to London, but without control. I think it's noble of him to keep walking forward despite everything that's happened to him."

"You think you know everything about him, don't you?"

"What?"

"He has good intentions, yes, but he doesn't pretend to be some sort of saving grace for the world. He's constantly depressed about what happened, and when he's not, he's satisfying his never-ending bloodlust by hunting down petty criminals and either shooting them in the head or ripping their hearts out. He can be a danger to people, and that's something I can't ignore. Which is why I've already prepared a burn notice for all of our branches. I'm about to give it, you should leave. If you'd like, Rin, you can take a leave of absence so you don't have to participate in this."

"...No." She left the room and closed the door behind her.

Zelretch sighed and started recording.

 **X**

"Master, pull over. You should see this." Nero showed him a trending video on his phone.

"This was just sent out to all branches of the Mage's Association a few minutes ago." Everyone in the car looked at his phone.

"Attention all branches of the Mage's Association. I am Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Wizard Marshall and acting Vice-Director of the Clock Tower in London. Some of may remember what happened three years ago, on November 19th. A mage of ours named Hayashi Tsukamoto killed hundreds of people, injured scores more, and sent London up in flames due to being possessed by a Heroic Spirit. After being subdued, we kept a close eye on him, and earlier today, he broke our contract and put our Vice-Director, Barthomeloi Lorelei, in the hospital. We can no longer let him do as he pleases. So from now on, consider this man a wanted criminal, and his Sealing Designation changed from Hermit to Philosopher. Anyone who captures him and brings him in will be an honored asset, and receive various rewards that will be negotiated shortly thereafter. Be cautious, he is very powerful. He is to be attacked and subdued on sight, wherever you may find him. He should still be in Europe anywhere, so top priority will be at our branches in Berlin, Paris, and Rome. London will also be on high alert. Any updates should go directly to the Clock Tower. Good luck."

"...Damn him. He's spinning it to make me look like the bad guy. He didn't mention anything about how Lorelei's been jerking me around since the accident."

"Master, how far is Munich from Berlin?" Jeanne asked.

"Other end of the country. We should be okay. We're only staying for a day anyway. But we shouldn't waste any time anymore. Let's get going."

 **X**

"How much mana did Quetzalcoatl add to the pool?"

"A good amount. The others were not exactly exceptional servants, but she was top rate for sure."

"Will the new ones be enough to finish the experiment? I only summoned five of them, but they were the best five I could muster. Practically every servant that exists in the Grail's collection has been summoned at this point."

"I believe so. At this point, assuming that they are all defeated, as well as the rest of the Japanese and Ancient servants, we will be good to go."

"Excellent."

 **X**

"How is it that I can know these words as if I have all my life?"

"The Grail grants me power over all aspects of music. I can summon whatever instrument I like, I have all modern knowledge of composition, and can grant some of that power to others as well. I enhanced your singing voice and gave you knowledge of the lyrics." He continued playing the piano while she sang again.

"Remind me again, Your Majesty. How can someone who is so pure and such a fantastic musician be accused of molesting your own son?"

"That never happened!" Her face was beet red.

"No?"

"No! All of those Prosecutors simply wanted to see me in the ground!"

"And they got their way. A shame you acted with such disgrace in your later years."

"I could say the same to you."

"Those were nothing but rumors spread from ignorant peasants."

"'Peasants?' I don't think I've ever heard you speak that way before."

"Hmph."

A break as she began singing again. Finishing the song, he began to do the accompaniment to the piece on his own.

"How is it you know of this piece again?"

"A student of mine wrote it. Franz Schubert."

"I'm not familiar."

"Of course not. He only started studying with me ten years after your death."

"What was the name of your other student? The up and coming prodigy one?"

"Liszt?"

"No, the other one. When I was still alive."

"Ah, Beethoven."

"Yes, that's the one. How did he turn out?"

"He revolutionized music. I consider him my greatest accomplishment."

"I see. Yet you are the one selected by the Grail, Antonio."

"Don't call me that, Marie. You know I'm not him."

 **End.**

 **Sorry for taking so long, everyone. I know that I said this chapter would be released in August, but the semester started and I'm incredibly busy. It might take me decently long for the subsequent chapters as well. However, I had thought of a couple of new additions to the plot as well, so I was making sure that I could plan it out accordingly and write them as well. The next chapter won't be as long, and with the end of the semester nearing, my workload is a little lighter. Hopefully it will be out soon. Thanks for being patient with me and continuing to support this story.**


	10. Part 3: Vienna

**Napoleon: I! Am! Here!**

 **Hayashi: All Might?**

 **Napoleon: What?! No! Who the hell is All Might?!**

 **Hayashi: He's from this show… you know what, nevermind. It's not important.**

 **Nightingale: Master, come sit with me and enjoy the performance instead of making fun of him.**

 **Mozart: Indeed! Enjoy my music!**

 **Salieri: "Your" music?! I will not allow you to monopolize this concert! Some of mine must be added into the program as well!**

 **Marie: Please stop arguing, you two...**

 **Songs**

 **Mozart's Premonition: Dies Irae (Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Marie's Concert: Les Danaides Overture (Antonio Salieri)**

 **Salieri's Anger: All for One's Theme (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Hijikata Confronts the Yakuza:** **英霊剣豪七番勝負 英霊剣豪戦** **_bgm (Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Hijikata vs. Yakuza:** **雷光～丑御前戦～** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Arrival in Vienna: Symphony No. 8 in E Flat Major "Symphony of a Thousand" Pt. 1 Hymnus "Veni Creator Spiritus" (Gustav Mahler)**

 **Napoleon's Waltz: Valse di Fantastica (Final Fantasy XV OST)**

 **Vs. Napoleon: Careening Into Danger (Final Fantasy XV OST)**

 **Salieri's Speech: Requiem in C Minor- Introitus-Kyrie (Antonio Salieri)**

 **Salieri vs. Mozart: Requiem in C Minor-Sequence [Dies Irae] (Antonio Salieri)**

 **Mozart and Marie vs. Salieri: Requiem in D Minor-Dies Irae (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)**

 **Salieri's Fury: Requiem: Dies Irae (Giuseppe Verdi)**

 **Salieri's Life: Piano Trio No. 1: II: Andante con Molto Tranquillo (Felix Mendelssohn), Piano Trio No. 2: II: Andante Espressivo (Felix Mendelssohn), String Quartet No. 2 in D Major: III: Notturno (Alexander Borodin)**

 **Vs. Anastasia and Ivan: Father Ariandel and Sister Friede (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Hayashi's Dream: Violoncello's Lament (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Hayashi and Scathach: Circle of Life (Adrian von Ziegler)**

 **Japan News Report: AZPV (Aldnoah Zero OST)**

Dies Irae? Mozart's piano playing woke up Hayashi. He kind of regretted staying in the nicest suite in their hotel in Munich, because it came with a piano, and Mozart was always awake 3 hours before anyone else practicing non stop for the entire day. But this time, he was playing the darkest and heaviest song he ever wrote in his lifetime. Something must be wrong. Hayashi yawned and got up, trying not to disturb Nero, who slept with him that night, and went out into the main room of the suite, finding Mozart playing a piano reduction of his piece with a somber look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Master, good morning." he said with no happiness in his voice.

"It's never a good morning when the first thing you hear is Dies Irae."

"Ah, apologies. I had an upsetting premonition."

"I didn't know you could have visions?"

"All Casters have some form of sensing events, even one as weak as myself."

"And what was your vision of?"

"Maria. And someone else that felt familiar, putting her in danger."

"Maria? You mean...Marie Antoinette?"

"How do you know about her?"

"She's one of the most important figures in history. I'm pretty sure she's also the only person you've ever known that's name is Maria."

"Mm. I'm worried about her, Hayashi. I do not wish for harm to befall her."

"What about your wife?"

"We didn't end up in such a great place. And of course, she was not worthy to become a Heroic Spirit. Besides, Maria is my unrequited love."

"Did you see where she was, by any chance?"

"...Vienna."

"Alright then. I'll wake the others and we'll head out soon."

 **X**

The swell of the brass section on a powerful D minor chord, and a slow solemn melody that continues in said key. But eventually, it switches to D Major, and the woodwinds open up for the high strings to play the real melody, a quick repetition of notes that goes up and down a scale. The concert hall only helped to give the beautiful piece masterful reverberation. Marie hadn't seen or heard anything from this opera in a long time, and was thoroughly enjoying the performance, conducted by the composer himself.

"It's so wonderful~" she hummed along to it, closing her eyes. The key changed back to minor, giving a sense of despair, with the trombones ringing out over the orchestra again. Unlike most opera overtures, particularly those of Mozart and later composers like Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Puccini, and Verdi, the overture of Les Danaides did not end in a huge dramatic resolution, rather it calmed down and got gradually softer, seemingly preparing the audience for the rest of the show.

Marie clapped, standing up.

"Are you not going to give the rest of the opera?"

"No. It is almost two hours long."

"And we don't have that time?"

"It's not that we don't have it, it's just that my attention span is much less as a servant than it was before. And with all of my new repertoire, I wish to try all of these new scores."

"I see. In any case, well done, Salieri-" In an instant, the entire concert hall went dark, and Marie was pinned against the back of the chair with Avenger's blade at her throat, himself now wearing his armor. Her face went pale with fear, and she shivered when his other hand, freezing cold, held her body in place so that she couldn't fight back. On stage, all of the white-veiled beings he summoned as musicians were now training rifles on her in a perfect semicircle.

"I told you not to call me that. Antonio Salieri is already dead. I am the one who killed the beloved Messenger of God, the Gray Reaper of Death. If you call me by that name again, my blade won't stop next time. Do you understand me, Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna?"

She made no sounds, only nodding slightly, thankful that it was enough for him to pick up on, and he backed off, going back on stage. All of his assistants went back to playing their instruments, and all of the lights came back on.

"Apologies, Princess. I did not mean for you to see me in that way." He looked up to the top balcony, where a young girl was sitting by herself.

"It is alright. I have seen worse."

"I hope you didn't get cold."

"I don't get cold." Her icy blue eyes reassured him. He smiled and nodded, sitting back down at the piano and beginning to play again, leaving Marie silent and terrified.

 **X**

"Tell me again."

"All of the highest ranking members will be there, from all three families. Each family is led by an Oyabun, a boss, and has a Wakagashira and Shateigashira, First and Second Lieutenants. Underneath them are the Kyodai, older brothers, and beneath them are the Shatei, the little brothers."

"I take it the little brothers are little more than errand boys or weak fighters."

"Yes. The bosses themselves may not be in their prime, but the Lieutenants could pose trouble."

"I doubt that. How did they gain such prominence in society? They were nothing more than shoddy criminals in our time."

"Once Emperor Meiji took over, they took prominence with the Industrial Revolution, becoming involved in both legal and illegal businesses."

"Meiji...So they're criminals."

"They're an organized crime syndicate, and still the largest, most powerful, and most feared in the world."

"Not for much longer."

Walking further into the back alleys of Kobe, Hijikata kept one hand on the hilt of his katana at all times, Okita following him diligently. After coming to an opening and a dead end, they stopped. Hijikata glanced at her and nodded, and she jumped away, going to join the other servants on a distant rooftop.

After a few minutes, many men looked over the surrounding rooftops, training SMGs and semi-automatic rifles on him. Other higher-ranking men appeared behind him on the ground, led by three older men.

"You are the one who called this meeting?" One of the three asked.

"Yes. You are the bosses of the main three Yakuza families, no? Akira Fujimoto of the Inagawa-kai, Ryozo Iwasaki of the Sumiyoshi-kai, and Kazuo Matsunaga of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Your first Lieutenants, Daido Yoshinaga, Enki Otsuka, Fundoki Hoshino, and your second Lieutenants, Hisoka Takemoto, Makoto Akiyama, and Yasahiro Koyanagi."

"Yes. I'm impressed that you know so much about us. Tell me, who are you, to be able to call a meeting between all of us, and know every one of our names, even though we know nothing about you."

"My name is Hijikata."

"Oh? Named after the Shinsengumi's Vice-Commander, are you? The legendary Demon of the Battlefield?" Kazuo answered him again.

"Named after? No. I am him." There was a pause, then laughter from all of them.

"Are you messed up in the head? This isn't really the time, and we're not really the people to crack jokes with."

"I'm being completely serious. I'm sure you wouldn't understand though."

"Damn right I don't understand. What I don't understand is why we're all standing here doing nothing, listen to you talk about how you're a hundred year old hero. Quit wasting my time and tell us what you want already!"

"What I want is for you to surrender to me. Japan will be under my control come sunrise, and the Yakuza is my biggest obstacle. So either you surrender and stay out of my way, or you die. Your choice."

A deathly silence fell over the alley, and the guns were once again trained on him, prompting his eyes to glance to his sides.

"...So you came here to threaten us?"

"Yes. What will it be? As your elder, and a so-called War Hero, you would do well to take my peace offering. Because when I am Emperor, I will have no need of a crime syndicate, and so stopping now guarantees you a future in this country."

"...Enough of this. Kill him." Kazuo and the other two bosses turned around and began to walk away and gave a signal for the armed members to open fire. Gunfire rang out from all of them, and Kazuo smirked, assuming that he had won and that once again, no one was able to defy the Yakuza.

Hijikata inhaled and exhaled deeply, dashing faster than anyone could see past the bosses and turning around in front of them, drawing his sword and cleaving through Kazuo Matsunaga before grabbing Akira Fujimoto's head and smashing it into a wall, then grabbing his rifle and firing a blast big enough to create a hole in Ryozo Iwasaki's chest. All of the Lieutenants' faces twisted into horror and anger now that their bosses were dead. The men up on the rooftops began to fire once again, Hijikata dodging all of the bullets this time by moving his body around, then jumping up onto the roof and slicing through them one by one. Far away on another rooftop, a sniper fired a bullet that soared straight for Hijikata's head, but while physically overpowering another Shateigashira with his free hand, he unsheathed his sword and positioned it so that the bullet bounced off of the blade. He stomped his boot on the face of the man in front of him, now on the ground, then took out his pistol and aimed the barrel directly at the back of the sniper's bullet that was spinning in the air, timing the shot just right and firing his own shot that propelled the larger bullet back towards the sniper, the bullet shooting into his throat and killing him.

"G-GET HIM! KILL HIM NOW!" The others unleashed the full firing power of their guns, terrified of the display from just a few moments ago. Hijikata grabbed one of the dropped rifles from a man he already killed and began firing back at all of them, taking them down quickly. Jumping back down to the ground to face off against the Lieutenants, he sheathed his sword and rifle and prepared to fight them hand to hand.

They all threw off their suits, revealing large intricate tattoos covering their backs, and rushed at him.

The first one, Daido Yoshinaga, threw a punch at his face, which Hijikata dodged, then grabbed his fist and broke it easily by twisting it. The second, Enki Otsuka, jumped and did a spinning roundhouse kick, which Hijikata stepped back to dodge, then grabbed his ankle and threw him back, making him spin. The third, Fundoki Hoshino, decided to take a different approach, alternating punches, which Hijikata avoided, then tried to get his gun away from him. Hijikata grabbed his arm and broke it, then getting behind him and snapping his neck. He then went to the others, Enki getting smashed into a wall, and Daido getting sliced through with Hijikata's sword again.

Looking back at the mess he made, he began to walk again, leaving the alleyway. Okita jumped back down to him, along with the others.

"We're going to Kyoto now. The Imperial Family is visiting there."

 **X**

"Wow! What an incredible city!" Nero and the others were looking every which way as they were driving through Vienna.

"Has it changed much in the last 200 years?" Hayashi asked Mozart.

"Not as much as you'd think. There are new buildings and technology of course, but the layout looks to be about the same."

"Ah, there it is." Hayashi pointed out a statue of Mozart in one of the plazas, driving by slowly.

"Heh." he chuckled.

"They've always appreciated you here. There's more than just that one."

"I'm humbled. It's up ahead, Master. I can sense it." Hayashi pulled over and they all got out. As they began walking through the city, they found themselves pass through a Reality Marble that brought them back to the 18th century.

"Ah, now this is the Vienna that I'm familiar with! Although...that's not supposed to be here." He pointed to a Russian Palace that towered over all of the other buildings.

"Then that would be where they are." They walked up and opened the doors, walking in to an enormous concert hall, with an orchestra playing on stage, led by a conductor dressed in black with silver hair.

"Ah, welcome! You're just in time to hear the Maestro's new work, dedicated to me! Come, sit, sit!" A well-built man greeted them and directed them to seats in the audience. Deciding to play along, they all sat down, while Hayashi took in the surroundings. The hall was pretty empty; the players in the orchestra seemed to be wraiths or familiars as opposed to Servants, probably constructs of the conductor, who must be a Servant. There was a short girl in the front row of the audience, who must have been Marie, who Mozart was worried about earlier that morning. Then there was the man who had brought them in and ushered them to their seats, who had a regal outfit on, dark tall boots, white pants, a white undershirt, red button down noble shirt, dark suit jacket with gold tassels on the shoulders, and a red and gold sash over it. Wrapped around his body was a tattered red sash, much larger than the nicer one. It was sort of hard to tell, but above them were two balcony levels, and jutting out from the second one, the highest point in the theater, was a small box seat where a young girl of about 17 was sitting. She wore a bulky white gown, with a white and teal mantle and a white veil draped over the back of her chair. She was holding a small doll, and had a sort of tiara in her silky, silver hair. Hayashi could already tell, just from where she was relative to the others, that she was of more importance, and gave off a powerful and cold magic energy, similar to the conductor, but stronger.

Turning his attention back to the stage, Hayashi enjoyed the waltz that the orchestra was performing. The violin and oboe solos were on point, the balance was perfect, and the conductor controlled them with mastery. They finished up, and everyone clapped, though Marie was noticeably more hesitant than the others.

The conductor turned and bowed, addressing the man in the back.

"Magnifique! Bien joué! Un chef-d'œuvre!" (Magnificent, Well done, a masterpiece)

"Merci. C'est un honneur d'être félicité par l'empereur lui-même." (It is an honor to be praised by the emperor himself). "Und du? Was haben Sie gedacht?" (And you? What did you think?) He turned to Marie.

"...Ausgezeichnet. Danke dir." (Excellent. Thank you.) She smiled thinly at him. He looked up to the box seat as well.

"It was excellent. Apologies, I'm afraid I do not speak any of your languages besides English."

"It's fine, I do not speak Russian either." He turned his attention to Hayashi's party.

"Come forward, all of you. You are my honored guests today." They all looked at Hayashi for guidance, who decided to go along with it, standing up slowly, and walking down the aisle, his servants following him. When they got to the front, they got a good look at the conductor/composer. He wore brown dress shoes, a black suit with thin white stripes, a red vest and red cravat, gold necklace, and silver and gold ornate cross against his waist. He had piercing red eyes as well.

"Welcome. I wish I could say this is my theater, but it is not, though it is my Reality Marble. This palace belongs to her." He motioned to the princess in the box seat.

She stood up and curtsied politely.

"My true name is Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, the last Grand Duchess of Russia. You may call me Caster, or Anastasia. This palace is one of my Noble Phantasms, Sumerki Kremlin."

"I would say it's a pleasure to meet a Russian princess, but we both know one of us isn't leaving here alive." Hayashi stared into her light blue eyes.

"And you? What do I call you, Maestro?" Hayashi turned back to the conductor.

"My only name is the Man in Grey."

"Antonio Sa-" He was stopped by a pleading look in Marie's eyes. He stopped before he said the full name.

"Marie Antoinette. And?" He looked to the back of the hall where the last man was.

"Napoleon Bonaparte!"

"I see."

"Napoleon, take our guests outside and deal with them. I will handle Amadeus."

"Understood!" A large bicorn appeared on his head, and he summoned a huge cannon, dashing to the front of the hall and sweeping the canon into all of them, sending them flying all out of the hall, all except for Mozart, who whirled around, beginning to run outside before the doors closed, courtesy of Anastasia.

"Where are you looking?" He turned around and looked at the stage, where Salieri's eyes were now angrily fixated on him, and the wraiths he had summoned all had rifles.

"...Salieri. After all this time, why are you now my enemy? We were friends in our lifetimes!"

"Yes, you were. But we were not. I am not Antonio Salieri. He is dead. Do not be mistaken. I am the one who killed the Musician Loved by God."

 **X**

"Now then! Let's begin!" Napoleon laughed as he skidded across the ground, launching himself out of Sumerki Kremlin.

"Now, let's see what you can do! Viens!" He slammed his cannon onto the ground and charged it up, firing a blast of fire at them all.

Scathach stepped in front and slashed through the blast with relative ease with Gae Bolg.

"Oh ho… a strong one." Napoleon aimed his cannon into the sky and fired multiple cannonballs at them, falling fast. This time, along with Scathach, Musashi and Altera sliced through the others, then dashed towards him. He placed it on the ground again and began to fire bullets in quick succession this time, making them rethink their footing and dance around him rather than go in for the kill.

"Now take this!" He fired a blue beam from his cannon and swept it across the street, hitting them all and knocking them away.

"Fine then. Let's see how you like it!" Scathach nodded to Kato and Nobu, who both began firing a multitude of bullets at him, making him jump back onto the roof of a building and begin dashing across it, outrunning the shots that were tailing him.

"Now then…" Scathach summoned multiple Gae Bolgs, and sent them flying at him, making him have to block with his cannon, then summoning another to dual wield, jumping up and flying down at him.

"Gae Bolg Alternative!" Her first strike stuck fast, paralyzing him and sending him up into the sky. Nobu and Kato stopped shooting so as not to hit Scathach, and she launched her other spear up, skewering him through the stomach, sending him crashing down through a nearby building.

"Damn it...that hurt like hell…" Napoleon slowly got up as Scathach landed across from him.

"Now it's time to finish you off." She gripped her spear tightly.

"Heh. I think I have just enough left to blast you with this. People, hope! Nothing is impossible for you! Because-I am here." His cannon separated, the golden part becoming two halves, sliding up the length of the weapon, revealing a white and gold tube underneath. The two halves connected again, and he aimed the weapon at her, charging up energy.

"Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile!" He unleashed a rainbow colored beam of energy from his cannon, straight towards Scathach, who held up both of her spears, prepared to split the energy in half again, but this time, being too strong to separate, and blasting her through the city, taking some damage.

"Are you alright?" Altera looked at her as she fell against the ground near them and recovered.

"Yes. His attack was strong, but Archers pose no threat to me."

"Do you need help?" Hayashi asked.

"No. I can handle him. I just have to stop holding back." Napoleon came out of the rubble, preparing to fire a blast again.

"You should have realized there was no chance of winning when I told you my true name! There is no impossible in my dictionary, and I never give up! Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile!"

"Napoleon Bonaparte? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with you." She tossed her spear into the air and swung her leg back, then kicked the end of it as it landed, sending it barreling through his Noble Phantasm and impaling him, making him fall over. She walked up and forcefully removed her spear from him, then stabbed him again in the abdomen, killing him.

"Shall we head back in, Master?" She looked over at Hayashi.

"Yeah. I'm worried about Mozart."

 **X**

"How many years has it been, Amadeus? If it is 2007, that means that it's been 216 since we've met."

"216? That would mean that we met in 1791. I'm afraid your memory is a little hazy, we met seven years before that."

"No. Again, I am not Antonio. I met you in 1791, when I commissioned the Requiem from you."

"...The Man in Grey, they called you."

"Oh, so you know of me?"

"Yes. My Master taught me of all that has occurred in the musical world since my passing."

"Your Master had to tell you? How unfortunate. The Grail gifted me with such knowledge upon being summoned. It seems I am a more important Servant than you." He smirked.

"...I truly believe that you are my friend, Antonio Salieri, and not this Man in Grey that people believed you to be."

"...And what makes you come to this conclusion?"

"All the Man in Grey did was commission the piece. But Salieri was a master musician, composer, and conductor, who knows all music like the back of his hand. He speaks in five languages and writes in three. He can be a bit stubborn and is not as lively to be around as others are, but he is more loyal and caring than any other. He did great things that furthered the world's culture in his life, and taught some of the world's greatest composers."

He remained indifferent to the compliments, and stopped smiling.

"Salieri and Mozart were friends. However, a genius and an ordinary human, getting along? I cannot comprehend that. Salieri was a well respected musician during his lifetime, and taught many famous musicians and their pupils, including your son. He retired from opera, but continued to compose and teach. Around 1820, rumors began to spread that the two had been bitter rivals, and Salieri had in fact poisoned Mozart to end his career. That is false. It is nothing more than venomous trifle. But it was enough to paint him as a villain and make his music and legacy fade into obscurity, overshadowed by Mozart's natural talent. It was enough to twist me into this."

"How unfortunate...but that is not my fault! I died as your friend! You said it yourself, those rumors are false, and only ignorant civilians spread it as a rumor!"

"I cannot change what I am. The Grail records every person throughout history as a potential hero or anti-hero, and it decides what I am like. I cannot change history. Now, prepare to die."

Mozart glanced over to Marie for help, but noticed that she was strapped into her chair, unable to move. He began to run around the hall, avoiding the shots that Salieri's wraiths were firing at him. Mozart summoned his conducting baton and fired shots of pink magic at the wraiths. It damaged them, some even collapsing and disappearing, but another took its place just as quickly.

Salieri grabbed his cross and summoned red and black armor around him, his cross transforming into a long blade. He began to use his sword like a bow, creating a violin sound, as Mozart was suddenly cut up by the same notes he played, falling to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" Marie yelled. He turned to her and once again pointed his blade at her throat, triggering her fear of him.

Mozart got onto his knees, remaining under the seat so that he appeared to still be down, then shot magic missiles through the chair at him, but he deflected them with his blade.

"You're not good enough." He suddenly appeared behind Mozart, stabbing him in the stomach with his blade.

"Mozart!" Marie cried out.

"You really aren't suited for fighting, are you? Even I expected more than this."

'I...have to…move…' Marie struggled to get out of her binds, then finally able to by singing, using her voice to shatter them, grabbing Salieri's attention.

"I don't think so." He prepared to cut her down, but Mozart took the opportunity to hit him in the back with a huge magic blast, sending him crashing through the stage, dispersing all of the wraiths.

"Fortissimo!" He jumped over the chairs, standing next to Marie.

"How annoying…" He got up, not damaged, facing off against both of them now.

"Come on, we don't have to keep doing this!"

"Bargaining now, are we? It's clear to me that if we keep going, I'm going to be the clear winner. Is that why you're trying to get out of this?"

"I'm trying to get my friend back! Look at the light in your heart! Remember who you really are! We're your friends!"

"I am not your friend, and there is no light in my heart. My darkness only gets darker."

"Fine then. We'll have to get you back by force. You say that you commissioned my Requiem? Then you should be familiar with this one! Please enjoy! It's time for a public performance! Prepare to listen! To the sound of a demon! Requiem for Death!" Mozart summoned his own wraith musicians, which took the form of angels rather than ghostly apparitions. They began to play furiously.

"Your Dies Irae. Admittedly superior to my own." he said calmly. He felt himself become bewitched by the song, feeling his strength fading a little bit.

'It looks like he passed the check, so he'll only take half of the regular repercussions.' Mozart thought.

He nodded over at Marie.

"Wishing to blossom, visibly in the open! Dancing, to blossom in full glory!" She used her own Noble Phantasm, turning the floor into a field of crystals, and jumping up, landing on the back of a crystal horse.

"Passing through, Guillotine Breaker!" She dashed through the battlefield, her horse tearing up the crystals and stampeding over Salieri, who showed no desire to move out of the way, taking the full force of the hit and getting blasted out of the palace wall, undoing Anastasia's Noble Phantasm, making her float to the ground. She and Mozart both healed and recovered some mana thanks to the other effect of her ability.

"Heh...how eccentric. Though...it seems that now I must get serious." He stood up and walked back over to them, his shell now broken, and wearing his suit again.

"If that was your strongest attack, then you are out of luck. I am death. I must kill the one that is loved by God. My name is Salieri. No...wrong. I am...who am I…?" He summoned his armor again, but this time it had a different design, and was larger than before. His cloak was more ragged, his helmet had become longer and more wild looking, and his sword had become longer, with thorns jutting out from the hilt.

"Ooh...gaze upon my armor of lamentation…! The darkness of the masses that held up a knife of malice is the wildfire that burned my soul into this shape and gave birth to me! Now, let's play the timbre of your demise!"

He created strings again with his claws, this time visible as blood red. He used his blade as a bow once again, summoning his wraiths again, many more than before, all with a Romantic style orchestra, with tons of horns and percussion. They began to play fiercely, cutting up both Marie and Mozart multiple times with their sound attacks.

'This is...Verdi's…Requiem! One of the ones Master had me listen to...even I haven't been able to master this yet, and Salieri couldn't have been summoned to this world more than a day ago...he really is a true genius!'

"Dance by my command, Gods of Death." The players all took out their rifles and shot at the two, piercing them with bullets, while ramming his sword through Mozart, piercing him against the wall of a nearby building.

"Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart…! I am the one that will kill you…! Your prestige, your music, every trace of you, I'll destroy everything…! This time, I'll kill you with these hands…!" He pushed his blade in deeper, his intimidating red eyes fixated on Mozart's own, fading green ones.

"Salieri...what has society done to you…?" Mozart felt himself tear up seeing his old friend this way. He removed his sword from Mozart's body, making him slide down to the ground, clearly defeated. Avenger turned around, walking towards Marie, who was too shocked to move.

"It seems like...your brother was a great help to me...No, I am...Who am I...grrrrrrAAAAAAHHHHHHH! KILL…! KILL! I am Death, the murderer of the one beloved by God! Dio Santissimo Misericordia di Mi!" He and all of his servants sang a powerful note that infiltrated Marie's mind and body, causing her to take damage internally, making her collapse.

"The public performance...has ended...Who am I…? Who in the world am I…?"

A moment later, both Scathach and Altera had pierced him with their weapons, attempting to destroy his spirit origin.

"If I was something that could be killed...then I was killed a long time ago…" He looked at them with calm eyes, seemingly ignoring the pain.

"Our weapons kill everything. You won't survive this." Gae Bolg and Photon Ray channeled rainbow and red energy, cutting through him and sending him flying onto the ground, startled.

"Mozart…Marie...Who am I…?"

 _ **Legnago, Italy, 1760**_

" _Well done, Antonio. You're coming along nicely. Music was truly your calling."_

" _Thank you, brother."_

" _Tell me, why choose Violin?"_

" _Because you play it, and I look up to you."_

" _...Not because of Padre's wishes?"_

" _No, of course not. Did you start because of that?"_

" _Si. He wished for me to learn it so that I could be hired by many orchestras and make good money."_

" _I see. Not a bad reason, I suppose. But I do it for the love of music."_

 _ **X**_

" _Antonio, seeing as your brother is becoming busy with recitals, and that you're progressing quite well, I arranged for you to take lessons from a new instructor starting today."_

" _Si, Padre. What is his name?"_

" _Giuseppe Simoni. He is a pupil of Padre Giovanni Battista Martini, a famous composer."_

" _Si."_

 _ **X**_

" _I hear your proficiency with the Organ is increasing as well."_

" _Si, Padre. How is Francesco doing?"_

" _He's well. Do not worry over your brother so much." They continued on, going to their local church, attending a recital of Salieri's brother. Though the performance was good, Salieri's face was kind of scrunched up throughout._

" _Ah, grazie for your performance, Padre. It was excellent." The elder Salieri bowed to him._

" _Grazie, Signore Salieri. Ah, is this your son?"_

" _Si. Antonio, say hello."_

" _Hm." He sort of nodded at him, but remained distant, surprising the two of them and getting his father a little bit annoyed._

" _Apologies for my son, Padre, he's a bit of a quiet boy."_

" _It is no trouble. It was nice to talk for a bit, but I'm afraid I have a few other matters to attend to at the moment." He nodded and walked over to the other musicians, and Francesco walked over to them._

" _What was that about?" He asked the two._

" _Your younger brother didn't greet our priest properly." He glared at Antonio._

" _Apologies, but his playing displeased me. It was in an inappropriate theatrical style." His father's expression softened, and he sighed heavily._

 _ **1764**_

 _His parents' funeral. They died young, due to illness. But living conditions in Europe hadn't changed in hundreds of years. So it wasn't that much of a surprise to him. Francesco came up to his younger brother slowly, now 14 years old._

" _Antonio."_

" _Si, fratello?"_

" _I'm afraid that we must part ways. I'm going to be touring through Italy, and won't have the time nor the resources to provide for both of us. So I've arranged for a monk in Padua to look after you for a time, until I can find a more permanent solution. I will try to visit when I can."_

" _Francesco…"_

" _I'm sorry it had to turn out this way. But you've always been rather responsible and grown up for your age, and so you should know that a musician of my level will never make as much money as the great masters like Handel or Corelli, or their star performers. I don't wish to do this, but I cannot provide for both of us, despite my limited success. I pray that you will see better days than me. You have the makings of a genius, Antonio. Do not give up on your passion, I know you can do great things."_

 _ **1766**_

 _Almost two years had gone by since then. The monk who took him in could no longer provide for him either, as taking care of him distracted him from his regular duties. A former business acquaintance of his father, Giovanni Mocenigo, a Venetian Noble of the wealthy and powerful Mocenigo family, took him in instead._

" _Antonio."_

" _Yes, Signore?"_

" _I've found a new composer, Giovanni Battista Pescetti, to be your instructor from now on. He is a prominent composer and organist here in Venice, and agreed to take you under his wing."_

" _Truly, Signore? Grazie!"_

 _It didn't last too long. Pescetti passed away suddenly at the end of March that same year. Mocenigo found a different musician, Ferdinando Pacini to instruct him in singing._

 _A recital after a few months, sponsored by his teacher. Salieri played organ with mastery, occasionally singing some opera solos as well._

" _Signore Pacini."_

" _Ah, Signore Gassmann! How are you?"_

" _Well, thank you. That young man performing, Maestro Salieri. He is your protege?"_

" _Si. He is phenomenal, is he not? He is a true genius. In all honesty, he might become as famous as Maestro Corelli."_

" _That's quite the bold statement. Tell me, what would you say to a little proposal I have in mind?"_

 _He finished his performance, and of course, everyone applauded and praised him._

" _Salieri. Come here for a moment."_

" _What is it, Maestro? Oh, hello."_

" _Salieri, this is my friend, Florian Gassmann. He is a prominent composer in Vienna, and the court ballet composer and chamber composer to Emperor Joseph."_

" _It is an honor, Signore." He bowed politely._

" _The honor is mine, young man. I heard your performance and listened intently. You have quite the aptitude for music. Have you ever tried composition before?"_

" _Yes, my previous teacher taught me the basics. But beyond that, no. Simply playing."_

" _I see. I have a proposition for you, which I ran by your teacher as well, and he supports it wholeheartedly. What would you say to accompanying me to Vienna? I will look after you and pay for the remainder of your education, and train you to be the next big composer for the royal court. Does that sound agreeable?"_

" _S-Signore, I'm amazed that you'd offer me such an opportunity. Thank you. Yes, I'd love to go."_

" _Very well then. I'll be in Venice for two more days, so we will leave on the morning of that final day. Your instructor will bring you to my quarters."_

" _Understood."_

 _ **X**_

 _The 15th of June 1766 was the day they arrived in Vienna, where Gassmann took Salieri to the Italian Church, sanctifying his teaching and service to God. His instruction consisted of Latin and Italian poetry, European Literature, and the German and Latin languages, of which he became proficient in both throughout the years. He studied vocal composition, thoroughbass, harmony and counterpoint, and translation between languages. Even after Gassmann became married, Salieri continued to live with him, until the composer's death and his own marriage in 1774. He wrote a few different pieces during this time, including a Mass and an Opera, neither of which have survived._

 _ **1766**_

 _Dressed in regal clothes, Gassmann escorted Salieri through Vienna's Royal Palace, bringing him to the dining room where the Emperor was eating his evening meal. They could hear a string quartet playing as well._

" _Maestro, does he speak Italian? I only just started learning German."_

" _Yes, he does. You'll do fine. That reminds me, you should also learn French if you're going to be around here in the future."_

" _Understood." He composed himself, as Gassmann opened the doors, prompting the Emperor to look up. There were many other people sitting at the table with him, all of the former Empress' surviving children, ranging from their early twenties down to just 10 years old._

 _They remained by the door until the players finished, and the royal family complimented them, clapping politely. Gassmann began to walk forward, Salieri following closely behind._

" _Welcome back, Herr Gassmann." Joseph smiled at him kindly. "And who is this, if I may ask?"_

" _This is my new protege, Antonio Salieri."_

" _Pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty." He bowed._

" _And you as well, young man. This is my mother, Maria Theresa, and my older sister, Maria Elisabeth. The others are my younger siblings, Leopold, Maria Josepha, Maria Carolina, Ferdinand, Maria Antonia, and Maximilian Francis." They smiled at him, the youngest Maria especially, seeming to be a bit more lively than the other reserved members._

" _What do you have planned for us tonight, Herr Gassmann? I must say, we are nearly finished eating." Maria Theresa spoke._

" _Apologies, Your Majesty, but today was Salieri's first day in Vienna, and so I wanted to show him around a bit before bringing him here."_

" _I see. And how do you like the city, Salieri?"_

" _It is fantastic. Much bigger than Venice."_

" _But of course, dear. If you are Herr Gassman's protege, then you are a musician as well, yes?"_

" _Yes, Your Majesty. I am an Organist, Singer, and Violinist."_

" _Would you be willing to play for us? Do not worry, we won't hold you to the same standards as a professional."_

" _You should. It will make me strive to become better." He walked over to the piano and lifted the cover, sitting down._

" _Well well, you found one with quite the aspirations, Herr Gassmann." Maria laughed._

 _He smiled worriedly, hoping that Salieri knew what he was doing._

 _Flexing his fingers, he began to play the Sarabande of Handel's Keyboard Suite in D Minor._

" _So pretty!" Maria Antonia sighed, giggling with one of her sisters._

" _La Folia? Interesting choice. An Italian theme but in a German piece." Joseph commented._

" _It's actually from Spain originally. But Italy made it famous." Salieri corrected, continuing on with the variations._

 _The royals finished their meals, and their servants took their dishes away and cleaned the table as Salieri finished, and the family, including Gassmann, clapped._

" _Wonderful. Played at the level of a professional even though you're still just a young man. Do you have an Italian composition in your repertoire? I rather favor them."_

" _Yes, of course." He left the piano and borrowed the Violinist's instrument, warming up for himself and getting a feel for it._

" _How about Corelli's Christmas Concerto? Do you all know it?" He asked the other players, pleased when they nodded their heads._

" _Excellent. One, two, three, four…" They all began to play the Grave section, and before long came to the main Vivace section, Salieri playing with mastery, as good as any other principal violinist in Vienna, entrancing the family, especially Joseph and the young Marie._

 _Finishing the piece, the three of them clapped, Joseph even getting up from his seat to do so._

" _Bravo, Young Salieri! Herr Gassmann, please continue to bring your pupil as often as you like. He is going to be a fantastic composer, I just know it."_

" _Thank you, Your Majesty. It means a lot." Both Salieri and Gassmann told him, taking their leave as the family was finished with their meal._

" _Well done, Salieri. I was a bit worried that you were going along with them so well."_

" _I can handle a little scrutiny, don't concern yourself with that."_

" _I see that. Well, it's getting late, but there is someone else I'm meeting for tea, and I'd like to introduce you, before we retire to my house."_

" _Very well."_

 _The two went to a nearby cafe, seeing a man sitting down at an outside table._

" _Florian."_

" _Pietro!" The two shook hands._

" _Salieri, this is Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, a good friend and librettist of mine. Pietro, this is my new pupil, Antonio Salieri."_

" _A pleasure young man. Please, call me Pietro Metastasio instead."_

" _Understood, Signore." He bowed to him. They sat down together._

" _You must have just come from the palace, no?"_

" _Yes. Antonio here charmed the Emperor and his entire family!"_

" _At such a young age? Impressive. You must be quite the musician to strike them on your first night in Vienna."_

" _Maestro calls me a natural prodigy, but I think he overestimates me, though I can't see myself as anything other than a musician."_

" _I see. Perhaps I should introduce you to someone else then, to assist you in your career here in Vienna."_

" _Who is it?"_

" _His name is Christoph Gluck, and he's a prominent composer of French and Italian opera here. He could teach you French, and also help you in writing opera, since your current Maestro deals more in chamber music. He's also the teacher of the princess Maria Antonia."_

" _The great opera composer Gluck? That would be magnificent, though I wonder if he would be able to see anything in someone as much of a novice as I."_

" _Do not consider yourself a mere novice, Salieri. I know that he'll be impressed with you and take you under his tutelage." Gassmann reassured._

" _Very well then."_

" _Great. He will be back in Vienna this Sunday, at the Martinez family house, which Florian has been to multiple times. He will take you. I will see you both then."_

" _Of course. Buona Notte."_

" _Buona Notte."_

 _ **X**_

 _Over the next few years, Salieri received informal instruction from both Metastasio and Gluck, teaching him opera and instructing him in prosody so that he would master libretto writing himself._

 _ **1770**_

" _Salieri." Gluck walked up to his now 20 year old protege in his study._

" _Yes, Maestro?" He looked up from a piece of parchment that he was writing some sketches of pieces down._

" _I've been called away to Prague for a commission. I was supposed to put on an opera here, but since an opening is now available, I recommended you for the position. Is that agreeable?"_

" _My first opera? I will do my best, then. Thank you for the recommendation." He said reservedly, but clearly had a shine to his eyes and an optimism in his voice._

" _Excellent. I trust you can handle it. It should be finished by the spring, so you have quite a few months to work on it. Should you need help, remember to ask Herr Gassmann or Maestro Metastasio."_

" _Of course. Good luck with your opera, and I wish you well in your travels."_

" _Thank you. I'll be back."_

 _ **X**_

 _After the royal family's evening performance that night, they invited him to stay a while longer and spend time with the younger members._

 _Many of the siblings that had been present before had now left due to political marriages or travel, the only ones still staying in the palace being Joseph and the two youngest boys, Ferdinand and Maximilian, both of whom were somewhere else in the palace, leaving Salieri alone with the young Marie, now 15._

 _Yet she was also only visiting, as she was married to Louis, the Dauphin of France, early that year, and had a formal ceremony that spring, and even consummated that night, despite both of them practically being kids._

" _How is your French coming along?" She asked, sitting down next to him at the piano._

" _À vous de me dire." (You tell me)_

" _Ah, well done." She smiled._

" _It's incredible, but I speak five languages now, all thanks to coming here."_

" _Five? What's the fifth?"_

" _I learned English for my own sake, since London is the other music capital of the world."_

" _Most impressive."_

 _Salieri once again began playing Handel's Sarabande._

" _This again? You really enjoy La Folia, don't you?" she giggled, laying her head on his shoulder as he played._

" _I hope to write my own set of variations for it one day. But I'm not sure as to how to approach it. Handel's version is so simple yet so perfect. Corelli's is too light for me, and Vivaldi's is too heavy for my tastes, though I enjoy both pieces thoroughly by themselves. I need a balance, somehow."_

" _I see. Promise me that I'll be the first one you invite to the premiere, once it's completed."_

" _Of course."_

" _Thank you…..Antonio, how do you feel about my marriage?"_

" _Why ask me such a thing? I have no place in the politics of your monarchy."_

" _I suppose not, but my mother had 16 children by the time she was 39, and those of us that have survived this far into adulthood have been married off to people we barely even know at her whim."_

" _How old was your mother when she was married?"_

" _She was only eight for a brief first marriage, then 19 when she married my father."_

" _Meaning that she was raised in the same way. She has known nothing else."_

" _My mother was relieved that her first marriage was renounced, since she had already fallen for my father at the time, yet will not let us marry for love."_

" _You do not love the Dauphin?"_

" _He's nice enough, I suppose, but the first time I met him, we were already married in the eyes of our kingdoms. What kind of life is that for a girl?"_

" _Who do you love?"_

" _Hmm...there was a nice boy I met once, when I was only seven, at our summer palace. He played for the court, and impressed even my mother at such a young age. We met alone in a hallway not long after the concert, and he charmingly asked for my hand in marriage. Of course, we were merely kids, but I always wonder how my life would be different if I suddenly found him again and we ran away together."_

" _What was his name?"_

" _Johannes Wolfgangus Mozart."_

" _Interesting. I hope to one day meet this man to see for myself how good he is."_

" _I'd like to see that." They looked out the windows, seeing that it was now dark._

" _I should be going. I have to start writing an opera tomorrow. It's my first official premiere."_

" _Ah! Congratulations!"_

" _Thank you. Maestro Gluck is away in Prague for a commission, so he passed the task onto me."_

" _Be sure to invite me!"_

" _Of course, but it won't be premiering until the spring. Won't you be in France?"_

" _I'll find a way to come back and visit."_

" _Alright. It was nice to see you again, Marie. If you ever need any advice, just write me. You know that, right?"_

" _Yes. Gute Nacht, Antonio." She hugged him and kissed his cheek, as he did the same._

" _You as well. I should go say good night to your brother and mother before leaving."_

 _ **X**_

 _Salieri's first opera, Le donne letterate, premiered in Vienna the following spring, as he said. The libretto was written by Giovanni Gastone Boccherini, brother of the famed composer Luigi Boccherini. It saw limited success, and only had one revival in Prague three years later. Marie could not attend, though she was invited, and replied with a letter apologizing for her numerous new duties that required her attention, though she did say to continue to invite her to subsequent performances._

 _He wrote a few other operas in that time, finding successes with Armida, and La fiera di Venezia, but writing some others, such as La secchia rapita. He also wrote some instrumental works during this time, modest, yet still enjoyed by Joseph and the royal court. In this time, Salieri had learned more of Mozart's growing popularity in this time, but due to his employment at Salzburg and not Vienna, they had still yet to meet._

 _ **January 21st, 1774**_

" _Hmm…" Salieri looked over to the clock in his study, seeing that it was almost midday, and he hadn't heard anything happen in Gassmann's room all day. He sighed and put down an early sketch of his attempt at a La Folia Variations, opening his door and knocking on his teacher's door._

" _Maestro? Are you awake?" No answer. Salieri opened the door to find him lying on his bed peacefully. He walked over and tapped him a few times, but there was still no response. Salieri's eyes widened, as he felt the man's pulse, but again, there was nothing. He stepped away and looked upon the man's entire form, before going off to find his wife and two daughters, just three years old and an infant._

 _His funeral was deeply saddening. Joseph spoke at it, of course. Though Maria Theresa was present, she did not speak, due to some of her remaining illnesses from her smallpox contraction seven years prior._

 _Afterwards, there was a mourning party held in the royal palace for the upper class, or those who knew him personally. Salieri attended._

" _Herr Salieri. Could I speak with you for a moment?" Joseph approached him._

" _Of course." He followed him to his private study._

" _With Herr Gassmann now gone, I wanted to give the position of Assistant Director of the Italian Opera to you. You will have an official position in my court. Do you accept this?"_

" _I'm honored, sir. Yes."_

" _Great. Come by tomorrow, and I'll tell you about your new responsibilities." They exited, and Salieri began to exit the palace, annoyed._

" _Antonio?" Marie's voice. He glanced behind him and locked eyes with her, then continued walking. She followed him out, stopping him in the plaza, away from prying ears._

" _Is something wrong?"_

" _Your brother can be unbelievable sometimes!"_

" _What did he do?" she asked sadly. She had never seen this side of him before._

" _I can't stand your family's principles sometimes, Marie. Everything is politics and manipulation. My teacher, the man responsible for bringing me here and giving me a good life, has just died suddenly, and what does Joseph do the day of the funeral, at the mourning party?! He asks me to take over his position, and that I start tomorrow!"_

" _But, that's...isn't that a good thing? You'll get paid more now and be able to write more music and become better…"_

" _That's not the point...he threw me into something before I even had time to mourn myself. I can't say no, he's the Emperor. I just...just because I don't show my emotions so easily doesn't mean that I don't have any."_

" _...I'm sorry for that."_

" _You have nothing to apologize for. You've always been kind to me." There was a moment of silence between them before Marie locked her arm with his._

" _Come on. I'll take you home."_

" _What about your husband?"_

" _He's back in France. I elected to travel here of my own accord."_

" _Your family? Won't they look for you if you suddenly disappeared?"_

" _You are my priority right now, and I'm my own woman now. I am not under my mother's control anymore."_

 _Gassmann's house felt so empty, now. His wife and children were at the party, so Marie and Salieri were the only ones inside. They sat down on Salieri's bed, silent for a moment, before his shoulders began to shake._

" _Damn it all…" he sobbed, and Marie hugged him, comforting him as he cried._

 _ **X**_

 _Salieri wrote a sacred piece and a few operas over the next few years. For three years, Salieri conducted and rehearsed the Italian Opera company, finding some minor success. However, because of poor financial management on Joseph's part, the Emperor had to shut it down, and decided to have French dramas performed less often as well. The two theatres owned by the court were reopened under new management, becoming new National Theatres. The new material would be mostly German to showcase the values of German and Austrian culture. Beginning in 1778, the Emperor wanted new works commissioned in German and with clear Imperial support, leaving Salieri in an unimportant position, since German was only a second language to him, and that he wouldn't receive many commissions, so he gave up his position, now in a financial bind._

 _However, Gluck turned down an offer in 1778. He was to write an opera for the opening of the opera house La Scala in Milan, and then take a tour of Italy. Seeing him spiraling further into depression, Joseph suggested that Gluck pass the responsibility onto Salieri, thinking that some new work and time away from Vienna would do him good. Gluck approved, and Salieri accepted. For two years, he went to Milan, Venice and Rome, then back, writing three new comic operas, with one of them, La scuola de' gelosi, being his first international success, with subsequent performances in Vienna and London in later years. Once again, he had found success._

 _In 1780, he was requested by the Imperial family to return to Vienna, partially for the former Empress' declining health and eventual death that year, but also for new commissions from the city._

 _ **X**_

 _A year later, the Italian opera company in Vienna was reinstated, and Salieri was put in charge of the first performance, a rework of his most recent opera, but not taking a full time position, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time. Many of the singers hired were people that he had worked with on his tour of Italy. After a few performances, he continued to compose and teach, a second job that he had recently picked up._

 _ **1783**_

" _Dear, you have a letter from Herr Gluck." Therese called for her husband as some of her children played around her._

 _Salieri walked into the room, taking the letter delicately from her and beginning to read it._

 _Maestro Salieri,_

 _I have been away in France for a time, and wish for you to come and visit me, if you have the opportunity. I have been commissioned for a French Opera Seria here, but due to the terrible success of my last french opera, I do not wish to put my name so suddenly on a new playbill here, so I would like to give you a chance and stretch your wings a little bit, going outside just Vienna and Venice, and trying your hand at Paris. Because you are a new composer here, I will have both of our names put on the playbill so people recognize a familiar composer. Should the work be successful, I will remove my name and make a public statement saying that the work is entirely yours. If not, I will say that I did everything and take the fall for it so there are no negative repercussions. If this is agreeable to you, then write me again, letting me know when you are expected to arrive, and I will pick you up near the Royal Palace. If not, write me anyway saying that you'd prefer not to._

 _Your honored Maestro,_

 _Christoph Gluck._

 _Salieri handed the letter back to his wife._

" _Read it."_

 _She did, and lit up as she went along._

" _This is an amazing opportunity for you!"_

" _Should I? I would be away from you and the kids for quite a long time, perhaps even a year. I've also never written an opera seria before, all of mine up to this point were comedic."_

" _Gluck will help you. Antonio, imagine getting praise from King Louis if this really takes off! You are still friends with the Queen, after all, right?"_

" _Yes, but I haven't written her in a while. Her reputation has been failing in France as a monarch bit by bit. She's too much of a lavish spender." He sighed, rolling his eyes, making his wife giggle._

" _Write her. This could be the difference in truly cementing your career as a composer! I know you already work for the Emperor here, but to work for the royal family of France, too?! It's anyone's dream! No one has had this amount of success since the great Maestro Handel!"_

" _I am nowhere near Herr Handel's level of skill. But if you truly think it is the best course of action, I will accept it. I'll write Gluck and Marie informing them of my departure and arrival."_

 _ **X**_

 _Salieri first wrote Marie, telling her of his new job and that he would be visiting Paris for up to a year, hoping to see her a few times. He got a personal letter from her two days later saying that she'd love to see him and will pick him up outside the palace with her own carriage, prompting Salieri to write Gluck and tell him of both his acceptance of the job, and also that there was no need to get him, as the Queen would herself, and take him to the opera house, where he should be. After leaving a fair amount of money for his family, he took his packed bags and hailed a carriage, on his way to the world's third leading capital (after London and Vienna)._

 _ **X**_

 _Arriving in Paris a day and a half later, Salieri was dropped off near the Palace of Versailles._

" _Monsieur Salieri?" A guard walked up to him?_

" _Oui?"_

" _The Queen has granted you permission into the palace to see her. Have you been here before?"_

" _I have not, no. But do not fret, I am sure I won't get lost."_

" _Of course, Monsieur. Go right on in." The guard opened the gate slightly so that he could go in._

 _At first, the palace seemed rather empty. There were no other guests there, so there were no gatherings. Eventually, he heard music though. Following the sound, Salieri ended up finding a violinist playing in a room nearby._

" _The Queen…?"_

" _In the other room." He motioned to the room directly across the hall. Salieri was about to walk through when he noticed that Marie was barely wearing anything, merely undergarments and a thin white gown, with a man painting her portrait._

" _Antonio? Is that you?!" She asked excitedly._

" _Y-Yes. Marie, why are you getting painted like that? You're the queen, don't you think it's a little inappropriate to have a portrait done in that manner?"_

" _It's tasteful, and it's not like anyone outside of my husband or I will see it. Or the painter here. Or you, I suppose. Anyhow, come in! I don't mind."_

" _We can stop for now and resume later if you'd like, Your Majesty." The painter proposed._

" _Hmm...yes, that might be a good idea. I'll be spending some time with my friend here. Return tomorrow morning, say, ten o clock?"_

 _He bowed and exited the room, careful to cover the work he had done so far and place it against the wall. Once he exited, Marie stretched, then jumped up and hugged Salieri, kissing his cheek multiple times._

" _It's been far too long!" She remained holding him, as he blushed heavily, thinking that the Queen had forgotten that she was still wearing next to nothing._

" _Marie, you should get changed before anyone else sees you like this."_

" _Ah, you're right. Accompany me to my bedroom." He sighed, realizing that he wouldn't be able to persuade her otherwise, and elected to simply follow her. Marie took off her gown and snapped her fingers, a set of maids coming in and fitting her with a casual blue gown. Casual of course still meant the highest level of aristocratic with her, but it certainly wasn't as poofy as her formal ones._

" _I'll be going out into the city for a little while, taking my friend here to an appointment. I will be back afterwards." They curtsied to her, and she led Salieri out to their carriages._

" _So tell me of your new job!"_

" _I know nothing of it yet, other than it is to be an opera seria for the Academie Royale de Musique."_

" _Do you have any ideas for it?"_

" _I do, but it depends on exactly what the commission is." There was a silence between them before Marie brought up an old conversation._

" _Are you still planning on a set of variations for La Folia?"_

" _Hm? Yes, I still am. I have a few sketches now, and an outline. I just keep getting stuck each time I try to write more."_

" _It's alright. It will come to you. You haven't forgotten your promise either, have you?"_

" _Of course not. You'll be the first one that I invite to the premiere." He smiled at her. Arriving at the outside of the building, Salieri saw Gluck waiting for him._

" _Well then, I should be going. Thank you for bringing me here."_

" _Of course! Do you have somewhere to stay while you're here? If not, I could give you a room in the palace…"_

" _No no, there's no need to do that. I have somewhere already. Maestro Gluck has made arrangements."_

" _I understand. Good luck. You know that I'll be at the premiere to this one as well!"_

" _I look forward to seeing you."_

" _Yes! Remember to stop by the palace whenever you need something. Perhaps next time we'll go to a cafe together!"_

" _I'd like that."_

" _Excellent. Goodbye, Antonio." She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, this time, then calling for her driver to take her back to her home once the composer stepped out, surprised at her grown up behavior, acting more regal than he thought she would end up being based on her younger attitudes towards royal principles._

" _Welcome to Paris, Salieri."_

" _Merci. How are you?"_

" _I'm alright. I must admit, that my reputation is not the only reason that I passed up this opportunity. I recently suffered a stroke while I was here."_

" _What-?!"_

" _Do not fret, I am recovered. It was nothing serious, but I did not think that I would be able to complete their commission in time with their schedule. So Emperor Joseph recommended you. And here you are."_

" _I see. So tell me, what about the commission? Any specifics I have to incorporate?"_

" _As a matter of fact, no. They are allowing you to do what you want with it, but to run the concept by the owner."_

" _I see. Alright then, I'd better get to work."_

 _ **X**_

 _The greatest success of his up until that point. His first french opera, and his first serious opera. Based on an Ancient Greek legend, there was a good mix of festivity, murder, and damnation. Salieri used Trombones to dictate the darker scenes, impressing the audience even more. It was such a success that he was commissioned for more works from the Paris Opera right after the premiere, the opera remained on stage for the next forty years, and Salieri earned a total of 650 ducats at the end of opening night, more than twice his annual salary, including a generous donation from the Queen. Little by little, Gluck admitted that he had no hand in its creation, and that everything was Salieri's entirely._

 _ **May 1784, Vienna**_

" _Herr Salieri."_

" _Yes?" He looked up to find an unfamiliar man standing before him. He wore an extravagant suit, and had long and curly blonde hair and green eyes._

" _Apologies, I've just wanted to meet you for a long time now. My name is Amadeus. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart."_

" _Ah, I've been meaning to meet you for a long time now. Your composition style intrigues me."_

" _Thank you."_

" _You know, despite our music being rivals, we don't have to be. I hope to work with you one day."_

" _That would be nice. I hope to see you again sooner rather than later. By the way, Amadeus…"_

" _Yes?" He asked, turning back around._

" _Have you ever seen Queen Marie Antoinette lately?"_

" _No, I have not...I have not seen her since we were children. Why do you ask?"_

" _I've been good friends with her since we were young, as well. I just spent some time with her this past year. I'm sure she'd love to see you."_

" _I see. Yes, I would like to see her as well, but I'm afraid I'm already married."_

" _What does that have to do with anything?"_

" _Marie was a childhood sweetheart of mine. If I were to go to her now...it would just be a reminder of our past regrets. Thank you for telling me though. It's much appreciated." He smiled at him and bowed, leaving the opera house that Salieri was working at._

 _ **X**_

 _In his return to Vienna, besides meeting Mozart for the first time, he befriended a librettist named Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote his first opera libretto for a new opera by Salieri, Il Ricco d'un Giorno, which wasn't successful. Ending his work with him, he moved on to a new person, Giovanni Battista Casti, while Da Ponte went to work with Mozart on Le Nozze Di Figaro, and later Don Giovanni and Cosi Fan Tutte, three of his most popular works._

 _Salieri and Casti produced La Grotta di Trofonio, one of his finest works, in the Fall of 1785, and shortly after the success, Emperor Joseph called for Salieri and Mozart, his two favorites, to each contribute a one act opera or singspiel for a banquet that was to take place in early 1786. Salieri worked with Casti again, creating Prima La Musica e poi le Parole, creating a parody of the relationship between poet and musician. He returned to Paris again that year, to premiere Les Horaces, which was again not a success. He then wrote the opera Tarare, which was a massive success. At Joseph's behest, Lorenzo Da Ponte soon translated it into Italian, turning it into Axur, re d'Ormus, one of his greatest successes. It was staged at the royal wedding of Franz II, Joseph's nephew who would become the final Holy Roman Emperor and the successor to his father._

 _In 1788, Salieri returned to Vienna and never traveled again. Due to increasingly poor relations between the French Monarchy and the public during his time in France, he didn't tell Marie of his arrival, and didn't invite her to the performances, something that he regretted, not wanting to abandon her friendship. However, she no longer made public appearances anymore anyways largely due to the Affair of the Diamond Necklace in 1784, and so he didn't expect her to come. Besides, the king and queen brought their problems upon themselves, but what was to be expected when they were put in charge of the nation at only 15 years old? This is why he wasn't involved in politics._

 _That same year, he became kapellmeister of the Imperial Chapel, where he conducted and instructed the school almost until his death._

 _Then, that date came._

 _ **20 February, 1790**_

 _Standing alongside Mozart, Salieri watched as Emperor Joseph's funeral took place. He had been in failing health for two years, and his policies were no longer trusted by his servants, what with the political reforms being seeded by the French Revolution._

" _We might have been the only two people left that he trusted." Mozart said sadly._

" _Mm." Salieri had a lot on his mind. He feared for his friends and for his family. Marie was in trouble because of the revolts of the French citizens, and Joseph was the biggest patron of the two composers. Without them, they had no direct support. How were they to provide for their families?_

 _Well, unfortunately, with all the recent political uprisings and with values changing throughout Europe, the new emperor, Leopold II, had no use for opera. Despite Salieri writing two more with Casti, they were deemed unsuitable for public performance because of their satirical take on politics, which had become much more important with current events._

 _Leopold was practically the opposite of his older brother. While Joseph had been more of a cultured man and supported the arts throughout his reign, neglecting politics, Leopold had no place for it and was overly political, not much in the ways of humor. He was smart enough to see through Catherine the Great's manipulative letters and did not act upon them, and gave his sister some good advice about dealing with the uprising in France. Despite this, he saw the country as weak, and within six weeks of his ascension, he disregarded the treaty of alliance his mother made that had been in place since 1756._

 _Salieri wrote three operas for the remainder of the year, two of which were not particularly successful, and one of which, La Cifra, was._

 _Of course, on December 5, 1791, Mozart passed away after a long struggle with illness, which made Salieri furious at the world for taking such a genius and his treasured friend from him._

 _In March 1792, Leopold mysteriously passed away, though some believed he was poisoned. His son, Francis II, took the throne. Like Leopold, Francis was more politically concerned, though he was quite a bit less harsh than his father was._

 _Salieri, concerned about his political position, appealed to the new emperor to retire as director of the Italian Opera. The emperor accepted and thanked him for all of his years of service, but as per his contract, he needed to continue writing operas until 1804 for the court, if not for the public. He wrote four operas for the rest of the year, his only true success of them being Palmira, Regina di Persia in 1795._

 _ **November 1792**_

 _Salieri, somewhat depressed from his resignation and independence from the regular commissions he was used to getting, had mostly been locking himself in his study all day, writing sacred works as a lasting favor for Mozart, only coming out for meals with his family._

 _Hearing a knock on his door, his wife opened it not waiting for a response, knowing that she wouldn't get one._

" _We have guests." She walked up to him, sliding a hand along his shoulder._

" _...Who?" was all he said, and quietly._

" _Haydn and a student of his. He wants to talk to you." Salieri looked up. He had known Joseph Haydn for quite a few years, thanks to Emperor Joseph. Haydn, of course, had been the world's most famous musician for 20 years now, and was a mentor to both Salieri and Mozart. Salieri met him and became good friends with him during his prominence in the early 1780s, before Haydn had begun his travels to London. Now returned, he was indeed sitting in the family room of Salieri's home. Walking in and sitting across from him with his wife, he did take note of a young man in his early 20s sitting next to Haydn, seeming respectful, but also with a hint of arrogance surrounding him._

" _Herr Salieri. How are you?"_

" _I...not too good, to be honest. My position as a composer has been insecure since Joseph died."_

" _I see...I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps I could assist you with that problem. How long has it been since you've taught?"_

" _Not since I married Therese. 17 years now."_

" _That is quite a long time. This is a student of mine, or, well, former student, I suppose."_

" _Ludwig van Beethoven." He introduced himself politely._

" _Antonio Salieri."_

" _I met Ludwig a few years ago on a trip to Bonn. When I returned to Vienna this summer from London, I ran into him again, and his old teacher made arrangements for me to instruct him. Unfortunately though, I don't think that I'm the right fit for him. So I'm wondering if you'll take on the task? He is already quite the composer, so they would be advanced lessons, keeping both of you stimulated."_

" _And the pay?" he asked, crossing his arms._

" _I will cover the fees myself, and it will be 100 ducats per lesson." Beethoven said, surprising Salieri and his wife._

" _It sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?"_

" _The catch is that these lessons will not be on a regular basis. I am trying to establish my career in Vienna, and have already composed some short pieces. Therefore, I do not need to be babied like a younger student. Consider these more directional to put me on the right path to success." Beethoven said._

 _Salieri's wife, surprised at the attitude of the student, looked to her husband for an answer. Haydn, ever the polite and submissive one, looked down awkwardly._

 _Salieri, however, took the boy's outburst as a challenge._

" _I think I see what's going on here." He stood up and put his hands behind his back, looking at Beethoven with an intimidating stare._

" _Herr Haydn is too nice to take on someone like you. You need someone to challenge your ego."_

" _You catch on quicker than I thought you would." he smirked, crossing his arms._

" _Very well. I'll take you under my wing. Perhaps teaching isn't such a bad option to pick up again. And maybe you'll turn out to be a fantastic composer, who knows?"_

" _Of course I will be! You underestimate me!" He stood up and moved his finger to poke Salieri in the chest, but the composer caught him, stopping him and making him smile again._

" _Have you made arrangements as to where he will live yet?" Salieri asked Haydn._

" _Yes. Do not worry about that."_

" _Excellent. I expect you here for your first lesson two days from now at 11 AM exactly. Even a minute late and there will be penalties. Leave any manuscripts of work you've already done here with me and I'll have a look at them to give you feedback and start your instruction. Understood?"_

" _...Yes, Maestro." He said, smiling sincerely at his new teacher, excited._

" _Then you're dismissed." Beethoven bowed and handed him a few of his already completed pieces or works in the making, then walked himself out._

" _I apologize for his rashness. He can be a handful." Haydn stood up._

" _It is no trouble. This is just the kind of student I need."_

" _Very well then. Salieri, in addition to what he pays you, I'll send you a little bit of gratuity when I can, for taking him off my hands and putting up with him."_

" _You don't have to-"_

" _I heard you retired and just have to finish out your contract. You could probably use it."_

" _Yes. Thank you, Joseph." His wife stood up and kissed his cheeks, Salieri remaining silent._

" _Then I'll hope that you set him on the right path. Please write to me when you have time."_

" _Of course. Thank you for coming."_

 _ **X**_

" _No. Write this part differently."_

" _Give the melody to a different instrument here."_

" _Change keys here. If you want something haunting, pick one of the minor keys with little to no flats or sharps._

" _The voice is a gift, and so you have to orchestrate it accordingly. You can't just use it like a tool."_

 _Three days a week, Beethoven was paying Salieri to help him work with his compositions, as well as teaching him about orchestration and Italian Vocal Composition. And each time, Beethoven did not argue, and would later praise Salieri as one of his greatest teachers._

 _Salieri himself only wrote those last four operas, as well as much sacred work, and much of his time was spent teaching Beethoven and soon after, Mozart's younger son, Franz Xaver._

 _Things went well for him for about a year until another haunting date arrived._

 _ **October 1793**_

 _Walking out in public, Salieri was going back home from teaching at the chapel that day, when he caught wind of many different people talking about the same thing: the Queen of France._

" _They say that she stepped on Herr Sanson's shoes before she was guillotined."_

" _How inconsiderate. Thank goodness she's gone."_

 _Salieri continued walking, thinking to himself._

' _Sanson? Isn't that the famous French executioner?' He decided to go back._

" _Excuse me."_

" _Ah! Herr Salieri! It is an absolute honor, sir." The two bowed to him._

" _Never mind that. What were you two talking about just now?"_

" _Oh! Word just arrived the other day that the French Queen was finally executed!"_

" _Marie…?"_

" _One and the same. The Habsburg Monarchy is truly no more now. About time, too. France was in a bad spot, and I'm glad that we don't have that same problem here with Emperor Francis."_

" _Herr...Salieri? Are you feeling okay? You just went pale."_

" _I...forgive me, I must go." He began walking away briskly before running all the way home, as fast as he could._

 _Bursting in through the door, his wife looked up startled, from reading the newspaper. His youngest children stopped what they were doing and moved towards their mother, afraid that he was angry._

" _Antonio? What's wrong?"_

" _The paper...let me see it." he said, out of breath._

" _..."_

" _Give it to me!" He held his hand out, stomping over to her. Quickly, she handed it to him, frightened._

 _Turning to the front page, he noticed the front headline._

" _Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, executed by Henri Sanson, son of famous Charles-Henri Sanson...found guilty for depletion of the national treasury, conspiracy against the internal and external security of the State, and high treason for her intelligence activities in the interest of the enemy...she was also accused of orchestrating orgies, planning the massacre of the national guards the previous year, declaring her son to be the new king of france, and incest with said son. She was executed by guillotine on the 16th this month."_

 _His hands now shaking, he let go of the newspaper, dropping all of the pages onto the floor._

" _I'm sorry dear…" his wife stood up and hugged him, bringing him into his room. Closing the door behind them, he let go and looked over to his desk, furious. He grabbed his sketches for La Folia and tore them all up in a rage, going back out into the family room and tossing the fragments into the fire._

" _Why would you do that?! That piece is your dream!"_

" _That piece was for her...she was the first one I was to invite...yet I could never bring myself to finish it...I haven't spoken to her in years, and now I won't have the chance to anymore, or to invite her to the performance. I wanted to see her face light up as she heard it, all of my years of work amounting to that one composition. But now it's useless. I'm never going to write it if she can't be there."_

 _ **X**_

 _Salieri was special, even among composers. He was one of the few who lived during two periods of music, in the Classical era, and entering into the early Romantic era._

 _Due to changing ideas in both the arts and in politics, Salieri decided that he didn't really have the creativity nor the emotional desire to conform to these new values. Instead, he decided to leave that task to Beethoven and other new and upcoming composers who seemed to have a better grasp on the situation. Beethoven had already begun making a name for himself and was very popular within Vienna._

 _ **1804**_

 _Salieri, his wife, and his oldest daughter Franziska, attended a performance at the Imperial Chapel one night, a boys choir that was not directed by Salieri, but another beginner composer in the service of the Emperor._

 _One of the leads during the performance intrigued Salieri and eventually had his full attention._

" _Excuse me, Maestro."_

" _Yes? Ah, Herr Salieri! How can I help you? I hope you enjoyed the performance."_

" _I did. I wanted to know...the young boy out in front, who sang the lead alto part. He was magnificent, what is his name?"_

" _Ah, you liked him? He is only seven, yet is one of my brightest learners and musicians, and has a fantastic voice. Franz! Come here for a moment. Someone wants to meet you." The young boy came over._

" _Yes, Maestro?"_

" _Franz, this is Antonio Salieri, Vienna's most famous musician."_

" _Franz Schubert!" The boy introduced himself enthusiastically, Salieri bending down to shake his hand._

" _Tell me, Franz, do you have any teachers right now?"_

" _Privately, no. Though my father promised to start teaching me violin soon!"_

" _I see. That is good. Tell me, what would you say to studying with me? Violin, Viola, Piano, and even composition?"_

" _Truly, sir? It would be fantastic, though, I'd need to ask my father first."_

" _Of course. No harm done if he says no. But I see an untapped potential in you that I'd like to bring out."_

 _ **X**_

 _ ****_ _Of course, Schubert's father said yes, and in addition to learning violin and viola from his father and brothers, he trained in piano, music theory, and composition. In 1805, Salieri unfortunately lost his only son, and just two years later, in 1807, his wife passed as well._

 _ **18 March 1808**_

" _Antonio." Haydn, helped in by a few workers in the hall, brought him down to the front where he sat in a chair in the front row, Salieri and Beethoven coming up to him._

" _Maestro." Beethoven kneeled down and kissed his hand. "I'm glad you were able to attend."_

" _I am truly honored that you put together such a performance for my sake." he spoke weakly, much more aged than the last time the two interacted, now 76 years old._

" _It is something that you deserve, Maestro. I shall return shortly." He left to make sure that everything was in working condition, including the orchestra itself._

" _I didn't know if it could be done, but you molded him into a fine man." Haydn chuckled, looking at Salieri._

" _It was exactly as I had predicted all those years ago. You simply need to put your foot down when teaching a rambunctious student."_

" _Yes, I suppose so...I was sorry to hear about your wife and son, by the way...it's never easy…"_

 _Salieri sighed, and looked at him somberly._

" _It was sudden. And of course with Marie and Amadeus no longer here with us, I am surrounded only by colleagues, no longer family."_

" _You still have daughters though, right?"_

" _Yes, of course. But they are busy with their own lives, and I with mine. I recently took a new student under my wing as well, Franz Schubert. Beethoven no longer comes to me with help, but visits me to show me his work from time to time and to try to convince me to write new pieces again."_

" _Why aren't you?"_

" _It hasn't been the same since she passed. She was always excited about attending my performances. Most of my writings are small pieces nowadays."_

" _Maestro." Beethoven returned._

" _Yes?"_

" _We should prepare for the performance. It will be beginning soon."_

" _Yes. I hope you enjoy, Joseph." Salieri nodded to him, then proceeded backstage to prepare the players as the other members of the audience began coming in._

 _The performance was remarkable, being conducted by Salieri. Haydn unfortunately passed out during the intermission, and had to be brought back home, but he greatly appreciated the gesture that so many people gave him. He passed away a little over a year later._

 _ **1815**_

 _Both Schubert and Beethoven had moved on from Salieri's teaching, and so his life was uneventful in his last decade, until he would take on Franz Liszt and Caterina Canzi as students a few years later._

 _Returning to his study, he sat down, unsure of what to do or work on._

" _Why not?"_

" _Because you're not here to listen to it." Not turning around, he stared at a blank stack of parchment, knowing that Marie was sitting to his left._

" _That shouldn't matter. You're going to regret it if you never finish it."_

" _Everyone's gone now...Gassmann, Gluck, Maria, Joseph, Amadeus, you, Haydn, even Therese. I waited too long to write it."_

" _Antonio. You've been sitting on this piece for four decades. Isn't it about time you wrote it, once and for all? Not for my sake, but for yours."_

 _He paused, then looked over to where he heard her voice, seeing no one sitting there, then sighing._

 _Dipping his quill in ink, he began to write out his staves and instrumentation for the piece. He wrote furiously for the next few weeks, creating something that had never been done before. It was, as he said, a set of variations, similar to the previous versions that Corelli and Vivaldi had done, but unlike them, he made full use of the instruments at his disposal, giving the melodies to all of them, the flutes, the clarinets and oboe, the trumpets and trombones, the horns, the high and low strings, and even the harp. Not a single part was considered insignificant._

 _He petitioned Emperor Francis for a public performance, his final composition that he would personally conduct, to be premiered at the Imperial Chapel, his greatest work yet, inviting the Emperor and his entire family, his remaining daughters, his students, and anyone else, either aristocratic or common, who wished to attend. The Emperor granted his request, but could not promise that he would be there._

 _The performance arose, and Salieri, having personally gathered the finest musicians handpicked by him, and running all of their rehearsals, was dressed in his finest suit, his black striped suit with red cravat that he initially wore upon entry into Vienna, although he had had it tailored since then so that it would fit an adult._

 _Before long, scores of people showed up, both high and middle class alike, interested to see what the old composer had come out of retirement for. Even the Imperial Family showed up, able to attend after all. Beethoven, Schubert, and his daughters found that the second row was reserved for them, yet not the first. Beethoven, curious, went to the first row of seats, right in front of the stage, to find them reserved as well._

 _Reserved for Florian Gassmann. Reserved for Christoph Gluck. Reserved for Maria Theresa. Reserved for Joseph Benedict Adam. Reserved for Joseph Haydn. Reserved for Therese Helfelstorfer. Reserved for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. And in the middle, Reserved for Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna._

 _Beethoven, somewhat shocked, looked up to the stage to see if his old teacher was even well enough to be conducting. But the man seemed fine, and smiled somberly at him. His greatest student returned to his seat and readied his hearing horn for when the performance would begin._

 _As Salieri conducted the performance, the audience became more and more amazed, not just by his own genius and innovation, but because of his intensive yet accurate conducting, to which he threw himself into more than ever before._

 _The piece, just over 20 minutes, was given a long standing ovation upon completion by the entire audience, impressing even Beethoven and Schubert, who had become master musicians in their own right._

 _He bowed politely along with the orchestra, smiling at the sign he made for Marie._

" _I hope it was to your liking, Maria."_

 _ **X**_

 _Following this, Salieri took a young Franz Liszt and Caterina Canzi on as pupils for a few years, but for the last year and a half of his life, he was committed to medical care for dementia (allegedly). He was aware of the rumors that he had killed Mozart that had been surfacing lately. Many people were in disbelief and trusted him, but many others argued fervently against him. When approached personally about these rumors while still out in the city, he denied each and every one and stated that they were baseless, and that Mozart was, and always would be, a dear friend in his heart._

 _Salieri passed away on the 7th of May 1825 at 74. His own Requiem Mass in C Minor, which he had written 21 years earlier, was performed in public for the first time, at his funeral._

 _ **X**_

"Marie...I'm so sorry I didn't complete that piece before your death…" Salieri dragged himself across the ground and held her hand, both of them beginning to disappear.

"It's alright, Antonio...now that we're Heroic Spirits, you can play it for me when we go back to the Throne."

"I'd like that…" She also brought herself closer to him, holding his head, and kissing him quickly before she disappeared fully.

"...I'm sorry for what I said…and I might say it again, because of the way the Grail works…" He looked at Mozart with pleading eyes.

"Hold on to the parts of yourself that are human...remember your life…" Mozart coughed out, smiling at him.

"I will...try...my friend…" Salieri disappeared, and Hayashi looked to Mozart, who had begun to as well.

"Florence, heal him before-"

"No, Master...let this happen...I told you when I was summoned that I was not a fighter...I did my best, but I knew it wouldn't be enough...I should be getting back to Maria and Salieri now...it's my time. And you shouldn't have to look after me anymore...you'll gain back some magic power without having to use it for my contract…"

"...Are you sure this is what you really want?"

"Yes...it's for the best...thank you for everything…"

"...This won't be the last time we see each other." Hayashi smiled at him.

"...Yes." He closed his eyes and smiled as well, disappearing and going back to the Throne.

They looked around, watching as Salieri's Reality Marble slowly crumbled, bringing them back to modern Vienna, where people were beginning to stop and point at them because of the odd outfits Hayashi's servants were wearing.

"Does anyone have a thing that'll make us invisible or something? Or that knocks out people?"

"I could hide us in the Land of Shadows."

"No." Hayashi rejected the idea. Suddenly, a fierce cold wind blew through the area, prompting the citizens to keep walking. Hayashi, shivering, looked over to where the palace used to stand, with Anastasia walking towards them, followed by something else, that was much larger than she was.

She tossed her own Reality Marble into the air, and it froze, before shattering, turning the vibrant city into a snowy tundra with a castle in the distance.

The thing next to her seemed to be inanimate, but was some kind of man-beast hybrid, that would tower over all of them were it to be fully standing up. For the time being, it was crouched down and frozen for some reason.

"This is Rider. I'm afraid he's not awake yet. It takes him a while to get out of this stasis. Until that time comes, I will fight you." She breathed out cold mist.

Hayashi cast a spell that gave him a light fire armor around his body so that he could remain warm.

"How sad, that you are given ice as a power to remind you of the cold embrace of death, Imperial Princess."

She remained indifferent, and held her doll closer to her.

"You pity me?"

"No. The Grail chooses who becomes a Servant. In fact, I assume you wouldn't say yes if it was up to you unless your family went along with you. But you became quite the figure after your family's murder."

She tilted her head in question.

"You and your little brother's bodies weren't found until a few decades ago because you were buried separately from the rest of your family. So for the entire time that you were unaccounted for, it became speculated that you escaped and were living under an assumed name, of which some people claimed to be you."

"I see...does Russia...still have a Tsar?"

"No. Your father was the last one. Since then, they've had dictators and now presidents."

"That's good...it was about time that we dissolved the position. Still though, because of my heritage, I am the last Grand Duchess of Russia. And with that, I must use my power to strike you down and bring you back to Angra Mainyu."

Hayashi wasted no time in running up to her and attempting to punch her, but he got knocked away by something heavy instead.

"What was that?" He couldn't see anything, and she hadn't moved her position.

"I am protected, Hayashi Tsukamoto. I will not be harmed by you."

"Master, are you alright?" Scathach asked. "It's not good for a human to be hit by something like that."

"You can see something?"

"Yes. It is a shadowy entity of sorts behind her. I can make out all things that are from Dark Worlds."

"I don't remember Slavic Mythology very well. I can't think of what it would be…"

"A demon of some sort, perhaps? Though it does not appear to have a physical body."

"So you couldn't damage it either?"

"Most likely not."

"Alright then."

'I want you and the others to try and get rid of that Rider while I fight her. Florence, you stay nearby to heal me if need be.' He spoke to them telepathically.

'Yes!' They all responded.

"I'm going to try and do this without having to rely on Verg Avesta." He charged up his fire more, and dashed after her. This time, because of his increase in speed, she jumped back, and brought her hand up to her mouth, beginning to blow out a frost breath. Hayashi swiped his hand, casting a fire spell in the same shape that melted her attack. She did not prepare to do anything else as when he approached her again, he simply got knocked towards the ground by whatever thing was on her side.

Hayashi recovered this time, slamming his hand onto the ground and flipping back up as Anastasia landed again across from him. Hayashi glanced back at the others, noticing that they were trying to attack the other servant, but not having too much success.

'Master, his skin is really hard. We can't scratch him!' Nero communicated.

'Keep trying.' He looked back to Anastasia, who didn't seem concerned, even though she was aware of what their plan was.

"You know Ana, it's strange to find a young girl like you on the side of someone who wants to reset the world through force. Why are you with Angra?"

Her face softened a bit when she heard him call her by a nickname, showing that her emotions were not completely shut off.

"He is my Master. He summoned me, and so I must listen to him."

"Is that how you see this? That's pretty naive, I must say. Servants don't have to listen to their Masters, you know. He must have told you something about me."

"Yes, I know all that happened to you."

"And that he completely betrayed me, even though I should have been in charge of him, by your logic. So you're lying. You support his plan clearly, but why? I'd figure that you would want to protect this world from Magic so that no one could do what once happened to you and your country."

"Sound reasoning, but you weren't quite in my position, were you? You ended your family's lives by your hand, controlled by him. My family was ruling the largest country in the world, but were driven out, not from my decisions, but from my father's. After everything that happened to my family, why wouldn't I support magic in the world. I believe that it would prevent disasters like that from happening again."

"Would it? Or would it just happen again, but on a larger scale?" Her eyes widened, and he took her moment of hesitation as his one opening. He activated his powers and dashed in front of her, throwing a punch not at her, but just above her. Of course, he didn't feel anything connect, but then snapped his fingers so that a blast of fire shot up from her feet and consumed both of them.

"Viy!" She cried out, trying to freeze it, which only melted her ice. Something swatted at the flames so that they went out, but by that point, Anastasia's body had minor burns and most of her heavy clothes had been discarded or burnt, leaving her relatively undefended in a short dress.

"Are you sure you won't freeze like that? If you get cold, I can warm you right back up you know." He smirked, summoning a small flame in his hand.

She blushed for just a moment, but shook it off just as quickly, and began using her feet as a medium for her ice, skating towards Hayashi, then around him, some of the ice creating spikes that tried to pierce him, though he dodged them by jumping back.

"Viy!" Anastasia's familiar grew in size and was now visible to everyone, its pink glowing eyes changing to a light blue, It reached out both of its arms, preparing to enclose Hayashi within its grasp. He waited until the last minute to make it look like he would be captured.

"Murderous Intent." His power surged and he instantly appeared in front of Ana, uppercutting her, then kicking her away towards the others.

"Guh…!" She spat out blood, unable to move from the force of his attack.

'Scathach. Finish her.' Hayashi communicated.

She locked her eyesight onto the flying Anastasia, then leapt over and stabbed her into the ground with Gae Bolg, making Viy disappear, and her begin to disappear. Hayashi stumbled over, his skill worn off and exhausting him.

"I'm sorry for this. I wish I could have had you as a servant as well. I would have liked to get to know you better."

"Perhaps...I would have enjoyed that...you seem like a good Master…" She smiled at him before completely disappearing.

"NNGGGRRRRGH…." Everyone was startled by the deep voice suddenly growling, looking over to the defeated Caster Servant.

"Anastasia...you killed her…my descendant…" Slowly standing up, he stood above all of them, nearly 20 feet tall (that's actually how huge he is). His bluish gray skin seemed to be a mix of rock and crystal, and his feet were actually rocks of some kind, with a rectangle shape. He wore nothing but a long blue waistcloth with a gold emblem on it, as well as a long blue cape, plus some bracelets and a Russian crown. In the middle of his chest was a crack that was glowing with blue energy, lighting his body up, and he had large mammoth tusks coming out of his shoulders and past his face. His face was also inhuman, seeming more like a creature's, and he wielded a large curving staff.

"I hate my life." Hayashi sighed, stepping back and looking up at the monster.

"You are...Hayashi Tsukamoto, I take it?" He looked down on him and spoke slowly and on edge.

"Yeah. And you are?"

"Ivan."

"You're going to have to be more specific. Russia's had more than one Ivan."

"Ivan IV Vasilyevich."

"The Terrible."

Ivan growled again, channeling electricity into his staff and shooting a blast of it at Hayashi. He dodged it and the two remained at a standstill again, though the other servants prepared to attack.

"Do not call me that."

"But that's what everybody calls you. Even your own country."

"I see. So they condemn me for my actions, despite absolving myself every day?"

"Absolving your actions doesn't mean you're forgiven. It's time for you to die again. It's a wonder you were made a Servant in the first place." His eyes sparked up with his powers.

'Problem is, his skin is too tough to break through. Even with Gae Bolg.' He glanced at Scathach.

"Tell me, why do you look like that? Weren't you a regular human?"

"Not this version of me. I fused with a Divine Beast, a mammoth."

"Hmph." He lifted up his hand, using one of his command spells, Scathach feeling herself forced to use her Noble Phantasm.

"Gae Bolg Alternative!" She dashed towards him and prepared to stick her spear right into his chest, the only place on him that looked like a weak point.

"I see right through you." He gathered lightning into his staff again and tried to grab her with his other hand.

'Nero. Altera.'

"Yes!" They both went behind him and sliced their swords along their back, Nero's fire and Altera's rainbow light able to stop him, though they didn't leave any marks.

"Ggrgh...bastards…" he groaned, stopping his attack and reaching behind to knock them away. Though Scathach took that opportunity to stab him with Gae Bolg, noticeably causing him discomfort, and dealing massive damage. Despite that, he still had enough strength to grab Scathach by her head and channel lightning through his arm, electrocuting her and making her cry out.

"Leave her alone! Verg Avesta!"

"Master, no!" Florence started running at him. As he impaled himself, Ivan dropped her and fell over, losing stamina.

Hayashi's wound healed, and he dashed over and caught Scathach, retreating with her.

"Florence, heal her."

"Yes, Master. You as well."

"Yeah…" She did so, and Ivan slowly got up again, the others backing up.

"Zveri- Krestnyy Khod!"

Ivan suddenly grew, unleashing his full power and true form: a massive mammoth with three glaciers on its back for humps even though mammoths don't have humps, chains wrapped around its body and blue sashes hanging from them, and a large blade powered by lightning at the end of the tusk. Ivan came out of the head partially, his voice now merged with the mammoth to make it boom.

"Can you defeat me now?"

"...Maybe." Hayashi mumbled. "Gate of Skye?" He looked down at Scathach for approval.

"Master. Look at the size of that thing. My gates are not big enough to drag a mammoth through them." She stared at him in disbelief.

"Alright then. Plan B. All Noble Phantasms at once."

"Try dodging this!" Ivan yelled out, as his trunk lifted up, and the point of the trunk blade started charging up an orb of electricity, then firing it towards them as a beam, with black, purple, and blue lightning crashing onto the ground.

"Dodge it!" They all kept their distance, avoiding the blast, though with some close calls because of how he could control the direction of the attack.

"Now!" He yelled out.

"Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" Nero's improved Golden Theatre manifested, and all of her purple beams shot out and bombarded Ivan, forcing the mammoth to take a few steps back.

"Teardrop Photon Ray!" Altera's beam consumed him, causing it to stumble around.

"Three Thousand Worlds!" Nobu's rifles knocked the mammoth over.

"Mechanical Illusionary Art- Bull Swallowing!" Kato used her cyclone to send it flying up into the air.

"Nioh Kurikara, Shotenshou! Ishana Daitenshou!" Musashi's oni summon knocked it around with its sword slashes.

"Nightingale Pledge!" Nightingale's nurse summon negated Ivan's mammoth, turning him back into his regular form.

"Gae Bolg Alternative!" Scathach launched Gae Bolg into the sky, piercing Ivan's chest again and going right through him.

He dispersed into particles as he fell, being completely gone just before he was about to hit the ground.

"Are you alright now Master?" Jeanne asked.

"Yes." The Reality Marble disappeared around them. "Oh, thank god. It's not cold anymore. Let's hurry up and get to the Einzbern castle so I can use their baths."

"You're...pretty carefree after fighting a Russian Tsar, aren't you, Master?" Musashi asked.

"That's what I like about him." Nobu smiled.

They began to head back to their car in Vienna.

 **X**

Despite the distance to Fuyuki from Vienna, they had no choice to drive, since commercial airlines wasn't an option. They put the car onto a ferry to cross the sea to Japan. It took the better part of a week, but at long last, Hayashi came upon the driveway and gates to the castle. Parking the car, they stepped out and stretched, before walking up to the front doors and pushing them open.

"It's fixed…" He mumbled, looking around.

"Fixed? What do you mean?" Florence asked.

"This place hasn't been used as a home in three years, and that time was when Gilgamesh invaded and killed Hercules and Illya. So who fixed it up?"

"Does it matter? They don't seem to be here right now, so let's just enjoy that they did that for us." Altera pointed out.

"Then let's find our way around. You guys can take whatever bedrooms you want." Hayashi went to the master bedroom and put his things away, then headed to where the baths were, filling the largest one up.

 **X**

" _London…?" Hayashi asked himself, looking around to find himself back on the familiar streets of his home city._

" _Master, watch out!" He looked over to his left where Jeanne called out to him, and suddenly he was hit by a taxi, blacking out, like before._

 _When he woke up, he was in his bed. This time, no one slept next to him. He got up and went downstairs, finding all of his servants carrying out their normal activities. Nobu and Kato watching TV, Florence cooking and Nero bugging her, Mozart playing piano, Altera and Scathach sitting outside to enjoy the breeze, and Jeanne and Musashi supervising everything with smiles on their faces._

" _What's going on? What are you guys all doing here? Shouldn't we be in Fuyuki?"_

 _No answer._

" _Guys?"_

 _Again, no answer. Not even a reaction. The room suddenly turned black and white, yet Hayashi remained in color._

" _This is a dream."_

" _Yes, it is." Angra's voice. But when Hayashi turned around, no one was there. And when he looked back again, his house was gone, and so were the servants. Instead, he was now in Vienna._

" _Master…" As he heard a thud, he turned around to see Mozart dead. Coming out from the streets were a few Enforcers, there to capture Hayashi._

" _You were seen by regular people with no disguises. That will be another mark on your record."_

 _Hayashi shot both of them in the head with his gun, making them fall over, as Zelretch came out from behind them._

" _Why disobey us?"_

"' _Disobey?' I'm not someone to be at your beck and call. I may be a part of the Association, but that does not mean that I have to listen to you blindly!"_

" _As a matter of fact, it does indeed. If you do not, then we will kill you here and now. And your powers will be ours for the taking."_

 _Hayashi activated his powers and dashed towards Zelretch, who used Kaleidoscope to disappear, then reappear behind him and restrain him._

" _Damn you…" Hayashi turned, but when he did, Zelretch was no longer standing there. Instead, Angra was._

" _Why continue to fight, Hayashi? Don't you see the fruitlessness of it all?"_

" _What I see is another dictator who decides that he knows what's best for the world."_

" _I am no dictator. I am a regular human, just like you. But I am an instrument of change for this world. Imagine how much faster we could progress if magic was implemented into everyday society."_

" _I do not want to live in such a world."_

" _You don't get it, do you?" He began walking towards him, and the city became consumed further and further into flames the closer he got. He eventually stood back to back with Hayashi, with him looking into a clean and industrious world, while Hayashi stared into the world that looked like a burning hell._

" _A world that is independent. No country needs to rely on others in order to advance." Hijikata spoke this time, now standing where Angra was._

" _A world fueled by warfare. Every country fighting against each other to prove who is the strongest, and to steal other knowledge and power for themselves." Hayashi answered._

" _A world that is just. Where criminals are held responsible for their actions, and crime no longer exists." Edmond told him._

" _A world ruled by fear. Where people live in fear of being accused and executed like a criminal."_

" _A world that is peaceful. Where magic can be used to defend nations from outside attacks." Solomon now stood there._

" _A world that is corrupt. Where scholars will look down on others for possessing inferior knowledge."_

" _A world that is powerful. Where a nation's strength will be held above all else, and their force will be uncompromised." Ramesses grinned._

" _A world that is prideful. That becomes arrogant because of their strength and is destined to collapse beneath its own weight."_

 _Angra once again stood behind him, the entire world now becoming the positive blue sky world he foresaw._

" _A world that is evolved. That no longer repeats its never-ending cycles of war and false peace and corruption."_

" _A world that is broken." Hayashi turned the world back into a burning mess. "That will destroy itself."_

"Master."

He opened his eyes and saw Scathach standing above him, wearing nothing but a towel, and holding a few extras.

"What is it?"

"May I join you?"

"Of course." He sighed, catching his breath. She handed him a towel and he propped it up behind his head, using it as a pillow. She, in turn, put the others down to the side for when they got out, and shed her own, folding it up and putting it with the rest before preparing to enter.

For the first time, Hayashi got a good look at her body, and it was absolutely something else, the best among the best, even by today's standards. Her breasts were incredibly large, about the same size as Nightingale's and Jeanne's, maybe even a bit bigger. Her ass was shapely and round, even bigger than Altera's, her accompanying thick thighs inviting him further. She was completely shaved down above her nethers, a bit surprising for an ancient celtic warrior to bother with, but he didn't mind. Her long purple hair swayed slightly from side to side when she stepped down, covering her broad shoulders and back for just an instant.

Along with this, part of what made her even sexier was the fact that she was an experienced lover. Nero, during her lifetime, had many wives and husbands, but was ultimately not in love with any of them. Altera simply raped those that she invaded. Jeanne was a virgin. Nightingale was chaste. Nobu had many children, but simply to continue the line of succession. Kato could not consummate. Musashi was chaste. But Scathach had laid with Cu Chulainn a few times, as well as had a daughter who he also fell in love with. Not only was she blessed with an hourglass figure, but she was toned as well due to her constant training and absurd strength.

"Do you find me attractive, Master?" she asked inquisitively. She did not bother to cover herself up, not embarrassed like Jeanne was.

"But of course. I've told you that a few times now."

"I enjoy hearing it each time." she giggled cutely.

"When people think of Celtic or Nordic women, they often think of disheveled and bloodthirsty warriors or simple housewives, nothing in between. I bet that if you revealed yourself to a Celtic Historian, they would be surprised to see that you took such care in your beauty and appearance."

"I grew into this appearance naturally, but with having so much free time on my hands in Dun Scaith, I suppose I passed the time by keeping my appearance up. It certainly paid off when others visited, as infrequently as that was."

"Cu?"

"Indeed. I'm sure he would give anything to bed me again."

"And what does it take to bed you? Do you have a specific demand?"

"My, my, Master~ Are you interested in me as well?"

"And what if I am?" He grinned, in a low voice. Scathach purred and swam over to him, placing herself upon his lap.

"Well then, my price...I'd say you've already satisfied it. What I look for in a man, huh…?" She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, breathing into his neck and beginning to plant kisses on him, making him shiver.

"The first thing I need is strength. I'm a warrior before anything else, like you said. So they have to be strong. And you are."

"And next?" He put his arm around her and his hand on her butt.

"Intelligence. They shouldn't be an idiot. That's why I never did Fergus." She sighed, running her hand down his chest slowly as she nibbled his ear.

"...Is Cu really that smart? I thought he was just a big musclehead."

"If they're not smart, they can always sway me if they look good enough." She chuckled, kissing Hayashi on the lips now.

"A Celt, through and through. I wonder if Brynhildr thought the same way."

"About Sigurd? If I remember the legend correctly, he is supposed to be a warrior equal in power to King Arthur. She must have been attracted to him for at least that much."

"So did you lay with Cu because he made you hot?"

"I suppose. I would also consider Diarmuid, but he would never want to."

"So, Strength, Intelligence, Good Looks, anything else?"

"Philosophy. I suppose this is part of intelligence, but someone who understands how the world actually works and how they should view it. You and I share the same philosophy, that the world is not yet ready for magecraft." She kissed him again and pressed her breasts against him, Hayashi kissing her cheeks.

"...Independence. Justice. Trust. Power. Evolution. Those are the reasons they're fighting this war."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"...I had another vision, before you came in. A link with Angra. He can contact me through dreams, somehow."

"Hmm...interesting. Can you contact him the same way?"

"No. But I can communicate with him when these dreams occur. I told them that their ideal world will be nothing but a dystopia, filled with warfare, fear, corruption, and arrogance."

"I agree. You must continue to disregard his ideas, Master. Hold fast to your convictions, and you'll be rewarded." She moved back slightly, and grabbed his manhood with one of her hands, beginning to jerk him off, her fingernails wrapped around it and slightly grazing it as she pumped.

"Rewarded, huh…? I see what you're getting at." He took his hand off her butt and slapped it, making her moan, then putting both of his hands against her breasts and beginning to fondle them.

"Jesus, you're like Florence, I can't even hold all of your boobs in my hand at a time."

"Yes, they are rather big, aren't they?" she played along.

"God damn woman…" he groaned as she picked up speed, taking her hand off, and shoving his dick between her massive boobs.

"It's been too long since I last had sex. I'm a little out of practice." She admitted.

"This is you out of practice?" She giggled, as he finished, shooting onto both her face and her boobs.

"My, Master. A little much, don't you think? We're not even done yet." She bent down and licked what was off of her chest, then used her finger to wipe off the trails on her face and then suck them clean as well.

"Hmm...Sweet." She stated, letting out a small burp.

"Sweet?"

"Indeed. How peculiar. Perhaps you're beginning to be like your old self."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"You're certainly different from when I met you. I'm sure the others would say the same." She let out another louder burp from the aftertaste of his semen then got on top of him, putting her lady parts onto his rod. As they began round two, and Scathach started bouncing up and down, Hayashi getting harder by feeling her ass hit his legs every time, he stared into her reddish purple eyes and slowly lost his smile, staring into her soul.

"What is it?"

"What do you want...now that you're in the Throne of Heroes?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Your whole life...you wanted nothing but to die, right? After becoming immortal."

"Yeah...that's right…"

"But now you are...you're a spirit. So do you want anything anymore?"

"Hmm...I suppose it's to stop Angra from achieving his goal."

"Yes, but that's only for this time. You'll be summoned again eventually."

"Then I don't know. I guess not. My life was several lifetimes for regular people. It wasn't that fulfilling since I was stuck in one place all the time, but I'd rather live on the Throne at this point."

"So it's from a summoned to summoned basis. Have you ever been summoned before?"

"Not once. No one was ever strong enough or compatible enough. Even this time, I was only summoned by the Grail itself because of Angra."

"Yes, but I forged a contract with you. And it's not as if I'm worn out just by having you under my control."

"You are a special case. I don't believe there's any Master stronger out there, nor will there be ever again. Because of your abilities, you're able to keep contracts with eight powerful servants at once, and still be able to fight on the level of a servant yourself, without getting too exhausted. Your stamina is breathtaking." She kissed him again, and finished bouncing, crying out as they both climaxed on each other.

"Master, are there showers here? It's admittedly a little gross to bathe in our own bodily fluids." She said, with a slight blush.

"Yeah. They're in the other room." The two drained the tub and took their towels into the next room, where multiple luxurious glass walk in showers with sliding doors were.

"This place is even fancier than my own castle…" Scathach mumbled.

"This isn't even their home castle. It's supposed to be a base for Einzbern Masters during the Holy Grail War, like Iri and Ilya. The real thing's in Germany somewhere." Hayashi turned one of the showers on, and they both got in, cleansing their bodies of any leftover fluids. Drying off, the two got changed, Scathach putting on a pair of purple underwear and a long, fluffy pink sweater, and Hayashi putting on shorts and a t shirt.

Stepping out into the main foyer, the other servants waited for them, also wearing casual outfits. They stood in silence for a few seconds, staring at each other.

"Dinner?" Hayashi suggested.

"I'll help!" Jeanne called out.

"UMU!" Nero and Nobu cheered.

They all went into the kitchen, searching through the fridge and pantry, settling on steak and sauteed mushrooms with spices.

Seating themselves at the dining table, they all ate happily and discussed their adventures so far. Hayashi smiled, glad that he chose to leave the Association and walk his own path. He was doing just fine.

 **X**

Scathach yawned, flipping through the TV channels in the master bedroom, Hayashi sitting at a desk, writing another entry in his notebook.

"There's nothing on, Hayashi. Come to bed so I have something to do." She teased, taking off her underwear.

"Twice in one day?" He asked, still writing.

"I'm a Scottish Warrior Queen. You should have expected this as soon as you chose to make love to me."

He sighed, finishing his entry and closing his notebook, re-sealing it with magic before going over to the bed and sitting down next to her. She began to kiss his neck, until there was a knock on the door.

"Master?" Musashi's voice.

"What is it?"

"There's a girl here who says she wants to speak with you."

"Did she say her name?"

"No. She has long purple hair, and looks to be a young adult."

"That's Sakura. Let her in."

"Yes."

"I guess we have to cut this short." Hayashi kissed Scathach and got up, heading downstairs to the main foyer, followed by her.

Sakura walked in, her hair a little disheveled, looking up at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Rin told me that you'd be here. And to go to you if I ever need help."

"How did she know? Master, you don't think she'll tell anyone, will she?" Scathach asked.

"No, we don't have to worry about her. So she knew I would come here...she must be the one who did the renovations."

"Yes."

"She said to seek me out if you need help? What do you need help with?"

"You mean, you don't know?"

"About what?"

"All of Japan's in an uproar. The leaders of the Yakuza have been slaughtered."

"What?!" He ran back into the bedroom, followed by Scathach and Sakura, turning the TV on, and changing to the news.

" _This just in, the captors of the old Imperial Palace in Kyoto have revealed themselves to the public! They took command of it a few days ago, chasing out any tourists and guides and killing those who stood up to them!"_

"That's…!" Hayashi gritted his teeth, recognizing one of the men from his visions.

"Hijikata…" Scathach mumbled.

" _My name is Hijikata! Hijikata Toshizou! If you're looking for the one who killed the Yakuza, then you've found him. Starting today, Japan is under the control of myself and my associates here."_

 _Eighteen other servants came out and lined up on the sides of him._

" _Hayashi Tsukamoto. That is the name of the man who I invite to try and stop me. He is from London, but I imagine he is rather close by right now. I know you can hear me. And you will have to seek me out anyway, because I am the Master Berserker. Your family is from Japan, no? Face me and my New Shinsengumi if you dare, but you will fail no matter what. Also, don't try anything funny. No sneak attacks, no assistance of any kind from others, because if you do…" He nodded to his underlings, who went back inside and brought ten people out, bound and gagged, with bags over their heads. They all removed the bags._

"The Imperial Family?!" Hayashi yelled, Sakura gasping.

" _Don't do things my way, and they all get it. The Emperor, the Empress, the Princes, the Princesses, even the little one." Hijikata unsheathed his sword and placed it against Akihito's neck._

" _I'll be waiting."_

"Damn him…" Hayashi growled. "Get ready. We leave for Kyoto tomorrow morning. No stops in between."

 **End.**


	11. Part 3: Kyoto

**Hayashi: Say the thing.**

 **Hijikata: No.**

 **Hayashi: Say it!**

 **Hijikata: No, I'm not saying it!**

 **Okita: Come on, Hijikata-san, it'll be funny!**

 **Hijikata: Grrr, fine. Omae wa mou shindeiru.**

 **Everyone: N-Nani?!**

 **Songs**

 **Kyoto:** **不夜城** **_bgm** **アガルタの女** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Duels Part 1: Bunta (Naruto OST)**

 **Duels Part 2: Rising Dragon (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Duels Part 3: Emergence of Talent (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Everyone vs. Hijikata:** **雷光～丑御前戦～** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Conversation with Avengers: Ruler-Sanctity (Fate/Apocrypha OST)**

 **Hayashi vs. Hijikata: MKAlieZ (Aldnoah Zero OST)**

 **Solomon and Ars Paulina: Dearly Beloved (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days OST)**

 **Hayashi, Musashi, and Nobu: Yuuzuki (Pink Martini & Saori Yuki)**

 **Imperial Family Visit and Talk with Nobu: Akikaze (kiki)**

 **Sakura's Operation & Remainder of the Day: Hear Me (Takanori Nishikawa)**

 **Talk with Ozymandias: Dead Kings and Living Gods (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

"I can't believe you let this get so out of hand."

"What was I supposed to do?!"

Hayashi drove to Kyoto faster than usual, with all of his servants and Sakura in the car with him.

"Summon your own servant! Aren't you with the Association now, too? What is the Tokyo branch doing?"

"I can't...I don't have a catalyst, and Hijikata took out the Tokyo branch."

"I summoned almost everyone here without a catalyst. You don't need one. And besides, we haven't run into Medusa at all, you probably could have just summoned her again."

"No, it was more like...I was restricted...my grandfather's crest worms bound me so that I couldn't act. He summoned Hassan of the Cursed Arm and tried to fight back to save the Imperial Family so that they'd owe us one. But they were cut down."

"Oh, good."

"Hey, screw you!" She yelled at him comically.

"It's for the better, Sakura. Zouken was a dick. Besides, one average Hassan is not gonna be enough to take on even the weaker servants, let alone Hijikata."

"Yes, so I see. Do you think you can take him on?"

"I'll be honest, I'm not positive. My ancestors lived in Japan when he was alive, and he was as strong as a servant even then. He's a samurai of the highest caliber, and a Berserker to boot. I'm hoping his Madness Enhancement will be his downfall, like Lancelot's was."

"Mmm…" Sakura looked out the window again.

"We'll be there in an hour or so. It's alright, we'll save the family one way or another."

"Master, would you mind teaching me about Japan's history? I'm afraid I'm not familiar. You told me about my own back in Roma, after all…" Nero asked.

"Sure. The first emperor was Jimmu, who became so in 660 BC. However, the first few emperors are considered legendary figures. It wasn't until the ninth one that scholars thought they could have actually existed, but agreed upon dates weren't until almost 1000 years later. Anyways, he captured the Yamato province and established a headquarters there. Eventually, when there was national power, it became the capital of the country, and Nara was made the capital city for a while, until it switched to Kyoto. The emperors were becoming so addicted to art, fashion, music, and other cultural phenomenon that they began neglecting their duties, so a shogun was appointed, the head of a military government. At a certain point, in the 1400s, political upheaval and unrest tore the country apart, and it broke up into new provinces controlled by clans. It was said that whoever got to the capital first would gain control and reunify Japan, becoming the new Shogun. And so she did." Hayashi nodded back to Nobu, who locked eyes with him.

"Really? And how was that?" Altera asked.

"Easier than you'd think. Then again, all I had was an unbending resolve. But it didn't last. I conquered most of the country, but was betrayed by a comrade, and I ended up committing Seppuku."

"One of your associates, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ended up killing that guy, Mitsuhide, and taking over your vision, conquering the rest of Japan. But he got greedy, and tried to take Korea and China for his own too. And he died in the process, as expected. So another of your old retainers, Tokugawa Ieyasu, became Shogun, and his family ruled for a little over 250 years. They moved the capital to Tokyo, then called Edo, and began the Edo period. They began Sakoku, closing the country off to outsiders and restricting natives from leaving. There was an already established small dutch colony in the southwest, so that's how they began learning about the advances in European science and culture. They evolved immensely since there wasn't any war any more, but eventually the western world wanted them to open back up, specifically Britain, the USA, and Russia. In the mid 1800s, the Emperor Meiji came up with a plot to overthrow the Shogunate and take power back for himself. His father, the reigning Emperor Komei, was opposed to opening up to foreign powers. Meiji got assistance from two clans and their provinces called Choshu and Satsuma, and the shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, allied with an elite samurai police force, the Shinsengumi."

"Isn't that-?" Musashi asked.

"Yeah. Hijikata was the vice commander of that group. Anyways, Meiji was successful, and reclaimed power, beginning a restoration and modernized the country, adopting a new western constitution, military, and dialect. They conquered Korea after and went to war with Russia briefly. Japan helped out Britain during World War 1, so it joined the League of Nations afterwards, allied with the other world powers. But they went against them when they started invading the pacific islands and Manchuria. They became one of the Axis powers in World War II, and after America used the Atomic Bombs, they surrendered. They were occupied by Allied Forces for 7 years, and then through their economic miracle, they truly transformed from a military country to a global center, with the second most powerful economy in the world. Its major cities nowadays, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Nagoya, are all completely modernized, though retaining some of its traditional structures and culture, particularly Kyoto."

"So I wouldn't recognize it?" Nobu asked.

"Not much of it. There are a couple of preserved sites there that you personally funded, but much of Kyoto is now modern buildings, called New Kyoto."

"Hm." Nobu and Musashi thought about their old home.

 **X**

"Wow…!" They all looked at the city in wonder as they stood in the middle of a main street. Street markets selling food, trinkets, and all sorts of traditional items lined it, the vendors calling out and advertising for more customers.

"I told you."

"But Master, there's still much of the old fashioned feel from back in my day! Much more than you implied!" Musashi said excitedly.

"Now then, we shouldn't travel together, because they'll see us coming. Some of them might even be patrolling the streets for us. So we'll split up into five groups of two. I brought maps for you all so you don't get lost." He handed them out.

"Musashi, come with me."

"Yes, Master."

 **X**

"Isn't the Imperial Palace the other way?" Musashi asked.

"Yes. We're taking a quick detour." They went onto a sidestreet, and came out into a small clearing, where a small house was.

"This is where my great-grandparents used to live. I visit here every time I come to Kyoto."

"I see." Musashi smiled. "Has anyone else lived in it since?"

"No. It was never put back on the market, but my grandparents bought it and kept it in the family so that it wouldn't be torn down."

"So then we're not staying here while we're here?"

"No, there's nothing in it. Alright, we should start going back."

"Yes."

 **X**

Meeting up at the Imperial Palace without a hitch, they noticed the gate leading around to the back was open.

"Sakura, I want you to try and save the Imperial Family. Get them out of here if you can."

"Alright."

Hayashi and his servants went through the gate and came across all of the servants, in a large open space, perhaps used as a practice area for something.

"Well well...look who's here. I knew you'd show up fast." Hijikata spoke, hanging back with another female swordsman.

"I'm in the homestretch now. There's no one left but the five of you." Hayashi glared at him.

"Hm. But it won't be as easy as simply beating all of us. Let's see if you can even get past my comrades first. We're all familiar with duels, right? Instead of all fighting you at once, let's have one-on-one duels until someone loses, then we send in someone new. Agreeable?"

"Yes."

"Master, let me handle them. I am the greatest record holder for winning duels in this country's history." Musashi smirked confidently.

"All right. Do you have a Reality Marble?" Hayashi asked Hijikata.

"Yes. I suppose this is a bit small for servants to fight. Here." Hijikata threw his marble down to the ground, shattering it. They stayed in the same place, but the world around them transformed, going back to the 1800s, before the Meiji Era.

"You're up first." Hijikata looked at one of them, who walked up, facing across from Musashi.

He had long purple hair tied into a long ponytail, wore a robe that left one shoulder bare, guards on his arms, and dark purple hakama. He wielded a long nodachi with a blue hilt.

"It's been a long time, Musashi. Do you recognize me?"

"You're...Kojiro?"

"Indeed. Are you ready for our rematch?"

"I'm ready whenever-"

"Hidden Sword, Swallow Reversal."

"Eep!" Kojiro slashed 3 times so quickly that it seemed like one, and Musashi blocked two with her swords, then avoided the third narrowly.

"Impressive. You can see them."

"What kind of technique is that?" she panted.

"It is a technique I spent my life developing, my own display of achieving a state of nothingness with the sword. You must have your own unique move, no?"

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her katanas, gathering purple energy on the blades, then slashing outwards, sending purple energy waves flying towards him. Kojiro slashed both apart, making the attacks worthless, then dashed at her, and the two began to engage in close quarters swordplay.

They seemed somewhat even for a time, until Hayashi noticed why.

"His strikes are faster than hers. Musashi! Stop holding back!"

"Master?!"

"If you want to beat these guys, you'll have to put your full strength behind each swing."

"...Yes!" She blocked his next attack and then prepared her free sword, swinging again. Kojiro moved his blade to block it, but upon making contact, he was sent flying by her new power.

The other servants all became surprised, save for what appeared to be the strongest four among them.

Kojiro, having hit a wall, slowly stood up and went against her again. However, Musashi dashed past him faster and slashed across his front, defeating him and making him fall over.

"In life, you were a much more worthy opponent. The Grail is unfair in how it divides power among servants. Not to brag, but I am a top class Saber, and you are a low level one, no?"

"I am an Assassin, actually…" he chuckled weakly, coughing up blood.

"I see. I suppose I won't get a worthwhile duel from you anymore, then…" she smiled shyly at him as he disappeared.

"Next." Hijikata looked to them, and another, towering and muscled man walked forward. He wore a tattered black hakama, yellow sash, brown chest plate, brown hood, and red gauntlets, wielding two spears, and with many others on his back.

"I am Lancer, Musashibo Benkei. I will not go easy on you."

"Start out with it, Benkei." Hijikata ordered.

"Yes! The Pilgrimage of the Five Hundred Arhat!" Above him, holy symbols appeared and shined brightly, Benkei examining Musashi. However, she remained untouched.

"So it didn't work…"

"I don't know what you were trying to do, but...no, it didn't." Musashi used her full strength again and dominated Benkei, defeating him as well.

Hayashi smirked, glad that he was seeing her full capabilities.

The next one to walk up was a young girl, with long teal hair and two white horns, wearing a teal kimono with a white cloak over it, white thigh high socks, and with a fan in her hand.

"Kiyohime. I'm a Berserker."

"The Dragon Girl?" Musashi chuckled.

"Yes." She answered calmly. "You have quite the handsome Master over there." She opened her fan and hid her mouth behind it shyly, glancing over at Hayashi.

"You can't have him!" Musashi protested.

"Aw." He smiled, making her blush.

Kiyohime slowly lowered her fan to just below her mouth, and began to exhale, a wave of flames heading towards Musashi.

"Woah!" She gathered power into her blades again and slashed through them, dispersing them, though some came dangerously close to the others.

She next enlarged her fan and channeled flames through it, running towards Musashi and swinging it, more flames appearing, surrounding them. She jumped back, avoiding them again, though Kiyohime saw through this, and followed her, outstretching her free hand and creating a spiral of fire around them.

"Ugh!" She slashed at Kiyohime, who avoided it by flying around to her other side, surrounded by a blue aura.

"This will be your end. Watch over me! As of now, I'll eliminate the liar. Samadhi Through Transforming Flames! Tenshin Kaishō Zanmai!" She extended her fan again, and this time a slew of blew flames in the shape of a serpentine dragon surrounded them and exploded around Musashi.

"Nioh, Kurikara, Sotenshou!" Musashi summoned her oni, which protected her and blocked the flames with its swords. It then used one of them to slice through the dragon princess, sending her back to the Throne.

Musashi, panting just a bit, realized that this is where the other servants began to get stronger.

Her next opponent walked forward, with long black hair tied into a loop, and wearing revealing black samurai armor.

"My name is Ushiwakamaru, and I'm a Rider." She bowed.

"The General Yoshitsune?" Musashi asked, regaining her strength.

"Yes, that's right." She drew her sword, ready to fight. Musashi once again got into her dueling stance, and the two clashed, their swordplay on par with each other, though Musashi still with an advantage. She slashed Rider back, and drew a second sword, preparing to take her own with a dual-wielding style.

"Here I come!" She dashed towards her, while Rider remained calm.

"Shana-oh's Wandering Tales. Eye of Shiva: Detecting the Six Secret Teachings." Suddenly, the two of them had reversed positions, and Musashi gasped as she almost lashed out at Hayashi, who stepped back, trying to figure out what happened.

"Usumidori: Short Steps with the Heavenly Blade." Rider stepped forward and dashed so fast that she suddenly stood next to Musashi, and slashed quickly, cutting her across her abdomen.

"Ugh!" She slashed out, but Ushiwakamaru jumped away just in time.

"Amen." she gasped, standing back up. "I place my trust in Tenjin of the Tenman Shrine, deity of absolute freedom. My sword shall sever your spirit! This one blade is my path of emptiness, the culmination of my life! Ishana Daitenshou!"

"Benkei: Steadfast Position." This time, an imitation of Benkei's body appeared, and blocked the oni's slashes, making Musashi's Noble Phantasm useless.

"Now it's time to finish this. Dan-no-ura Hassou Tobi!" She crossed the distance between them by continuously leaping, and passed Musashi, slashing as she did so.

She coughed up blood before falling forward, hitting the ground. Ushiwakamaru sheathed her sword, and began to walk back towards the others.

"Heh." Ushiwakamaru stopped, her eyes widening, looking back to Musashi, who was standing again and smirking, despite her injuries.

"You're not dead?" She unsheathed her sword again.

"No. I have very high rank Battle Continuation. I used to fake my death all the time and then get the jump on my opponent."

"That is so unhonorable. You are not worthy of being a samurai." She arched her eyebrows in anger.

"Hey, it doesn't matter how I win as long as I win, right?" she chuckled. Fifth Form." She switched her stance so that she was pointing her swords downwards at her sides.

"I will finish you with my strongest technique. Hoemaru: Spider Slayer!" A whirlwind cloaked her blade as it became enveloped in white light, and she dashed towards Musashi, ready to cut her down again.

"I will defeat her with this strike. Empyrean Eye." She moved her swords into an x shape, then slashed outwards with pink energy as Ushiwakamaru clashed with her. After a few seconds, Musashi stepped to the side as the black haired samurai girl fell onto the ground, disappearing and being sent back to the Throne.

"What was that?" The other servants asked. Hayashi knew because of his contract with her, and Hijikata and Okita were beginning to analyze her and figure it out on their own.

The next Servant, a shinobi who was a bit shorter than Musashi, stepped up. He wore brown sandals, red leg braces, a gray and red hakama, a dark blue belt, a bit of red armor on his sides, a red scarf, and a white shinobi's coat. He also had medium-length light red hair. He wielded twin kunais, and had red eyes.

"My name is Fuma Kotaro. I'm an Assassin." He went into a combat stance, and Musashi's pink aura surrounded her again.

"There it is again." Hijikata mumbled to Okita.

"Yes. What could it be?"

"That aura, the Fifth Form she called out, doesn't seem to be doing anything other than enhancing her physical power. The other one, the Empyrean Eye, seems to be a skill that lets her get her way. She said 'I will defeat you with this strike' just before using it. Interesting."

"Well then, here's my trump card. Here is the great flames of hell, namely, pandemonium. Immortal Chaos Brigade!" Kotaro slammed his palm on the ground, causing a circle of fire to enclose Musashi, then blow up into a tornado.

"Ishana Daitenshou!" The wind from her sword blew it away and obliterated Assassin, racking up another win for her.

"Are you alright?" Hayashi asked.

"I'm...a little worn out…" she gasped.

"Take a break. Nobu." Archer stepped out and took her place as Musashi walked back to the side, sitting down.

The next Servant, wearing black shinobi pants, a fishnet top and a white hakama, green rope belt, white flower in her long black hair, wearing an eye patch, and wielding both a kodachi and tanto knife, stepped forward.

"My name is Mochizuki Chiyome. I'm an Assassin."

"Come on. I don't have all day." Nobu examined her fingernails.

"Mochizuki unsheathed her kodachi and dashed at Nobu, who did not move, merely glancing up at her opponent. As Mochizuki was about to come into contact with her, she was shot away by rifle fire, multiple rifles appearing in midair, damaging her. Nobu smirked.

"Of course my swordsmanship is not as impressive as Musashi's, but I have an advantage that most Archers don't. I don't have to physically move to use my abilities. I can shoot whenever the hell I want to." More guns materialized and shot Assassin continuously, stopping her from moving and making her weaker and weaker.

Mochizuki got up, bleeding heavily, but surrounded by a thick, dark red aura.

"Curse, this blood of mine. Curse, this sin of mine. For many years since Koga Saburo, there is something here that cannot be washed away. Summoning-Omen of the Great God Ibuki!" The aura transformed into a giant, multi-headed serpent that hissed and slithered through the air towards Nobu.

"Yamata-no-Orochi? Demon King of the Sixth Heaven." Her reality marble activated, and they were transported to the burning Mount Hiei, surrounded by fire. The serpent instantly burned and ceased to exist.

"Wha-?" Mochizuki was shocked.

"I don't believe in gods. There is no higher power, we are all just beings with different abilities. As the destroyer of Shinto and Buddhism, I was granted this Noble Phantasm in order to burn anything divine into ashes, such as Yamata-no-Orochi. That was what that was, right?"

Mochizuki gritted her teeth, and did not answer.

"Hmph. I thought I was being friendly with you, but nevermind. Goodbye." The flames exploded around her and sent her back to the Throne.

"Ugh…!" Four of the other servants, Sakamoto Ryoma, Shuten Doji, Ibaraki Doji, and Tamamo no Mae, were also extinguished at once by being in the Reality Marble. Nobu smirked as she broke it, returning to Hijikata's. She looked over at the commanders of the group, Okita shielding herself from the flames, and Hijikata remaining unimpressed, making Nobu frown.

"Let's see how she matches up against another Archer of her caliber. Tomoe." Hijikata ordered, another female servant bowing and going out to stand against Nobu.

She was beautiful, had long white hair, a white robe, and firey red samurai armor, with a katana at her waist, a naginata on her back, and a large red bow and quiver also on her back, over the naginata. She also had horns coming out of her head.

"She's an Oni…?" Hayashi mumbled to himself, taking notice as she tapped her head, blushing.

"Th-They're showing?! Kyaaa!"

Everyone blinked, Okita sighed, and Hijikata closed his eyes, crossing his arms.

"They've been showing since we came here, Tomoe." He looked at her.

"L-Lord Hijikata, you should have told me! I don't like people knowing about them!"

"It's not like I mind. It's just a part of our history."

"I know you don't care! It's everyone else! God, this is so embarrassing…" She gasped and sidestepped, avoiding Nobu's fire from her rifles.

"What do you think you're doing?" Her voice was calm again and with a touch of anger in it.

"You let your guard down. So, you are the female samurai wife of Minamoto no Yoshinaka? Tomoe Gozen?"

"You know of me, Unifier?"

"I do. After all, my clan were descendants of the Taira." Tomoe instantly frowned.

"So our families are rivals."

"Indeed they are. I must say, you are beautiful. But in our times, the clan you belonged to was everything. And so I cannot seduce you, unfortunately. It would go against my principles."

"Wh-What?! What are you talking about?!" she screamed, blushing again.

"She's bisexual." Hayashi clarified.

"I don't know that I would go that far, Master. I only slept with women a few times." she answered back.

"So did she." He pointed at Nero. "And we all know how well that ended."

"Hey!" Nero pouted and pounded his chest as he looked away.

She took the opportunity to run up and fling Nobu into the air, who cried out in surprise.

"Now who's letting their guard down?!" she yelled out, grabbing her bow and an arrow, igniting it in fire and aiming right at her opponent.

"Aryāvalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, grant me power! By the early sun's radiance! Oṃ Ālolik Svāhā!" She fired it, and Nobu grabbed her sword, ready to deflect it, and summoning some rifles to fire at it. However, the arrow wasn't deterred, and hit her, igniting her in flames, her body falling down onto the ground.

"How does it feel to be ablaze yourself, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven?"

"You think flames hurt me?" she cackled, surprising Tomoe. Nobu stepped out of the fire, her hat and cape gone, and her uniform slightly charred. "I died surrounded by fire, and I'll be damned if I die that way again! Three Thousand Worlds!" She summoned her entire arsenal of rifles, shocking Tomoe and obliterating her.

'There's only eight of them left…' Hayashi looked over to the last few.

The next one who walked out was a young woman wearing a long black and red kimono but low cut so that the tops of her large breasts were showing. She had flowers in her short, black curly hair, gold ribbons wrapped around her kimono, and wielded a large brush. A small black octopus floated next to her.

"My name is Katsushika Hokusai. I'm a Foreigner."

"What's with the octopus?" Hayashi asked.

"That's my father."

"So you're not Hokusai, you're Oi."

"Yes, fine, does it make a difference?" she sighed.

"Kind of. One of you's an octopus and the other's not. It's like all of Japanese Art was a lie. How were you even born?"

"I was born normally!" She snapped. "The Grail did this!"

"Of course it did." Hayashi rolled his eyes.

"A famous painter, huh? Interesting. Let's see how you do against me." Nobu summoned a few rifles and began firing, Oi jumping up to dodge them and throwing sharp painter's tools at her, with a bit of mana infused in them, making them soar at her with a colored aura. She jumped back to avoid them and continued firing.

"Alright, then let's try this instead!" She took her paintbrush and swiped it up towards Nobu, creating the image of a painted wave that rushed towards her, absorbing all of her gun fire.

"Guh…"

Oi ran past her and ran her brush along the ground, leaving a line of blue paint. When she went back to her regular spot, she started to swipe the brush upwards, forming multiple waves on top of the first one.

"On Sochirishta Sohka, On Makashiriei Jiribei Sohka...The Mysterious Emperor that sees through all of creation, protecting the national boundaries from the North-Star, O Honorable King of the Stars! I present you the last of my brush strokes! Come, come, this is for your perusal! Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji! Under a wave off Kanagawa rises!"

The wave overtook her, knocking her to the ground and beginning to deprive her of breath.

"Three...Thousand...Worlds…!" She gasped out, summoning her rifles outside of the waves and shooting them all at Oi, making her dash around, trying to avoid the shots. However, she did get hit a bunch of times, making the Noble Phantasm dry up and allowing Archer to breath again.

"Finally…"

"Hehe...Ph'nglui, Ph'nglui. It's like I became a fairy with this dreamy state of mind." She now arose in her Outer Form, wearing a darker and more revealing dress, the top of her chest completely bare and her breasts barely covered by the thin fabric pattern. The cuffs were very much larger and now in a starfish shape, and there were two large parts down to her feet that looked like wings, but were part of her dress. Her skin was paler and her eyes were now magenta, while the flowers in her hair were now strange alien-like plants. All of her artists' tools were placed in the cuffs of her sleeves. She no longer had her paintbrush either.

"Damn it…" Nobu chuckled slightly.

'That's the same thing that girl did back in Bran.' Jeanne looked at Oi's new form.

"Three Thousand Worlds…!"

"Not this time." She flew into the sky and swiped her hands down, her brushes painting a swirl of colors, and causing a mountain to come down and pierce Nobu into the ground.

Hayashi gritted his teeth, ready to step in, but stopped when he saw that Hijikata placed his hand on his sword, ready to intervene himself.

"Now, let's try this again. Ph'nglui, Ph'nglui, On Sochirishta Sohka, wgah'nagl fhtagn! The Mysterious Emperor that sees through all of creation, O Sakra dozing off in the hall of the Ocean of Stars! I present you the last of my brush strokes! Come, come, this is for your perusal! Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji! The strange sea off Kanagawa rages!" She used her Noble Phantasm again, only this time the waves were red in color.

"How do these Outer Forms work?" Hayashi asked Jeanne.

"That Abigail girl became more like a witch the longer the fight went on. She mentioned some God or something within her, Sut-Typhon."

"Sut-Typhon? That's not a god I'm familiar with." He took out his phone and looked it up.

"Sut-Typhon is another name for the god Yog-Sothoth from the Cthulhu Mythos. Cthulhu?!"

"What is it, Master?" she asked.

"Cthulhu is a fictional god of destruction. But nevertheless, if Foreigners are possessed by gods of some sort, than Archer's second Noble Phantasm should do the trick since it incinerates anything divine." He told Nobu this through her mind, making her activate it, as well as she could speak underwater.

Once again her reality marble surrounded the entire area in flames that consumed Oi, working well enough to wipe her out this time.

"Master...this one is the last for a while…" she gasped, falling onto her knees to catch her breath.

"Auntie!" Another servant hopped over to her, bending down to make sure she was okay.

"Huh? Auntie?"

"It's me, Chacha!"

"Chacha?! Why are you a kid?!"

"Chacha doesn't know. The Holy Grail is weird when it comes to these things. Do you want me to help you out?"

"So you're betraying us after all." Hijikata looked at her, not surprised.

"Of course I am! Anywhere Auntie goes, I go! Just because I was summoned with your group doesn't mean I like you! You're mean!" Hijikata started to get angry, with Okita trying to calm him down.

"Don't worry Boss, I'll take care of her." Another servant, dressed up like a demonic ronin walked forward. He wore a tattered gray hakama, tattered blue cloak stained with blood tied around his shoulders, black sandals, and a straw ronin hat that darkened his face, only slightly cut out for his eyes, glowing red, and had long red wavy hair.

"Nobu, get back over here." Hayashi said firmly, the servant obeying quickly, followed by Chacha.

"I feel uneasy around that one." The servant locked eyes with Hayashi, and stepped forward more.

"My name is Okada Izo. I'm an Assassin."

"Um, My Lord?" Chacha looked up at Hayashi.

"Hm? Just call me Hayashi. What is it?"

"If you don't mind, I'm going to fight this time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides, I rely on the Grail for Mana, not you. It shouldn't drain any of yours, it's a free fight!" She walked out to face Izo.

"Make your move." He said menacingly. Chacha rushed towards him, drawing her own Kodachi from its sheath, and igniting it with fire. He jumped away as she sliced upwards, trying to burn him.

"I see...That swordsmanship, I memorized it." He swiftly dashed behind her and slashed the same way, a dark aura coating his blade, cutting her across the back.

"Ugh!" Chacha fell over, startled by his strength and speed.

"Chacha?!" Nobu called out, worried.

"Auntie...I'm okay." She stood up again, and ignited flames all around her.

"If you're that fast, then I'll simply have to use something that's too wide of an area! You shall see Chacha's true strength. It is really amazing! Really! Even the sun cannot escape from this Chacha! Go! The samurai of purgatory that are undecaying even in death! Descend now! Dazzling Castle of the Sun in the Demonic Realm!"

Her sword lit up with flame again, and a pseudo reality marble activated, bringing them to a burning wasteland with Osaka Castle towering over them. Multiple flaming skeletons rose from the ground and surrounded Izo, running at him and slashing with katana, or firing with rifles. He was able to dodge all of them, while Chacha planted her sword into the ground, encasing herself in fire, manifesting a giant flaming phoenix, then flying right at him and exploding with a huge burst of flames. When everything cleared up, Izo was nowhere to be found.

"Haha! I did it, Auntie!"

"Chacha, behind you!" Nobu yelled out.

Chacha gasped once she noticed that Izo was standing behind her, in different clothes. He now wore an open chest shirt with gold and black sleeves, and a fancy two layer hakama with blue and gold, and a red and gold pattern on top. He had a white scarf wrapped around his neck, and now his face was in view, long purple hair covering one eye and tied back into a thick ponytail. He wore a headband and his eyes were now glowing yellow-orange rather than red. His swords had also changed, now shiny steel with a constant dark purple hue emanating from them.

"I'll kill you here. I bear no grudge against you. This too is just a job...Divine Punishment! Settlement Sword!" He lowered his face behind his hair, and bent down, beginning to draw one of his swords in an Iaido style. Darkness seemed to pour off of him to obscure the surrounding area from view. There was a horrific stabbing sound, and the darkness lifted, Izo now behind Chacha, his sword plunged through her heart. He chuckled, then began to laugh maniacally as he sliced upwards, cutting her body in half and sending her back to the Throne.

"CHACHA!" Nobu screamed, ready to unsheath her sword and lash out at Izo, but stopped when she couldn't move her body, glancing over at Hayashi, who's hand was lighting up thanks to the use of a command seal.

"Why don't you deal with the rest of them?" He asked Scathach, who nodded, stepping forward.

"Master, please let me…!" Nobu pleaded. He shook his head.

"I'm not risking losing you too. Someone who can copy others' fighting styles and grow stronger from them is dangerous. I wouldn't have minded summoning him myself, but it seems that he joined their side first.

Scathach summoned Gae Bolg and walked across from Izo, staring each other down.

"A hero from the West, huh…? I don't know who you are, but you're out of your league. The only servants with superior weapon skill than me are Lady Raikou and Lord Hijikata. I'm warning you now...back down if you value your life."

"There's nothing more that I hate than arrogant servants. A warrior who boasts of his own strength over others, no matter how strong, has no right to call themselves a warrior at all. That's why I beat Cu into shape…" She used her full speed and clashed with Izo, her spear easily overpowering his sword, making him grit his teeth, pressured.

"Kkh….!"

"Do you see the difference in our strengths now? Don't be so quick to judge others." She knocked him off balance and pierced him with the spear, pulling it out again and making him fall over, starting to disappear.

"N-No way...for me to lose…" He coughed out, the rest of him fading away.

"So you are a master of dueling too, I see…" Another swordsman who was older and seemed wiser and more experienced stepped forward. He wore full samurai armor, black and gold with red trim, and a long black cape. He had short gray hair and a small gray beard.

'He doesn't look like he's that much stronger than the other one physically...but mentally, he's like iron. He looks calm and focused...his hand is even already on his sword…' Scathach glanced at the black hilted katana.

"I am Saber, Yagyu Tajima-no-Kami Munenori, the former swordsmanship instructor to the Tokugawa family. I am properly trained, unlike Izo. Now then...show me what you've got…"

Scathach twirled her spear and dashed towards Yagyu, who remained still. A second before she connected with his sword, he appeared past her, dashing faster than most can see, re sheathing his sword.

"Iaijutsu. The Yagyu-Shinkage-Ryu draws on it frequently, and so does Munenori." Hayashi watched him finish sheathing his sword with a smacking sound, Scathach's back suddenly cut, making her stumble.

When she turned around to fight him again, he was already there, slashing her sideways this time, and when she tried to hit him again, he jumped away again.

"Master, permission to use my full strength?"

"...Yeah, go ahead."

"Excellent." She twirled her spear behind her and bent down to the ground, stretching her leg out behind her, then dashing at Munenori much faster than before, surprising him and forcing him to keep his sword drawn.

"What just happened?" Jeanne asked, now watching her keep up with him and even overwhelm him with faster strikes.

"Scathach and Altera are usually restricted by me, so that their full power doesn't do too much damage to any surrounding area. Even though this is a reality marble, their magic power is enough to shatter it on their own at full power. Now that I removed the restriction and gave her her full strength back, she'll be able to take the rest of them on with no problem.

"I've had enough. If this doesn't work, then I will concede defeat. I will cut you down. Here I come. My heart is immovable, yet it must be free. Thusly, it has entered the realm of no desires and no thoughts. Peerless in Swordsmanship- Zen and the Sword as One." Faster than he ever was before, Munenori practically teleported past Scathach and used his strongest form of Iaido, a single diagonal slash across the front, and resheathed it, sending blood flying out of her.

"Are you alright?" Hayashi asked, looking at her with concern.

"Ugh...Yes, I'll...be okay…" She leaned against her spear, then stood tall again.

"You forget Master, I could not be killed...I've brought down gods with more severe wounds than this before."

"If you could not be killed, then how did you become a Heroic Spirit?" Yagyu asked her.

"I'm a special circumstance. The Grail deemed me a Servant long, long ago and enforced a contract upon me and destroyed my world to make it happen. I did not die like all of the others." She twirled her spear and impaled Yagyu, sending him back.

"Heh...that means it's my turn." The next one, one of the last four, walked forward.

"Kintoki, be careful!" one of the other females called out to him in a sweet voice.

"C'mon, Boss. We'll both see each other in the Throne again soon anyway, right? There's nothing to worry about." He grinned at her.

"Oh, Hijikata. You don't happen to have a cigarette on you, do you?"

"Here." He reached into his coat pocket and tossed him one.

"Hey, Lord Hijikata, don't set a bad example for him!" The woman turned to him as the other one caught it and lit it up with a silver flip lighter.

"What, not sharing? You want one too, Raikou?"

"N-No! He shouldn't be smoking anyway! It's not healthy!"

"We're already dead, Boss, it doesn't matter." He grinned, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaling smoke.

"Anyways, my name is Sakata Kintoki. I'm a Berserker." Kintoki wore a modern outfit, black pants with a golden belt buckle, and shiny black shoes along with it, golden necklaces hanging around his neck, a big open black coat with white fur trim, and red gauntlets. He wore large purple sunglasses too. He swung his giant axe out in front of him, sparking with electricity as he threw his cigarette onto the ground.

"I can tell that your weapon is special, but is it like mine?"

"Not quite, but it is still imbued with divine power, trust me." It sparked up and he jumped into the air, falling down towards her. She held her spear up to block, and the two clashed. Kintoki seemed impressed when he noticed that he didn't really move her.

"Hehe...what an opponent. Even after Yagyu cut you and inflicted such a big wound on your back."

"That wound has already begun healing thanks to both my own and my master's magic power. It is of no concern anymore." She kicked him away and energy surrounded her spear.

"I don't think so...Let's go with a flash! Blow away. Knock them out! Golden Spark!" He jumped in the air and prepared to drop down on her again, summoning a huge amount of lightning, much bigger than previously.

"Haa...fine. Come, my castle. Bring me victory. Gate of Skye!" She summoned more than just her gate this time, but in fact her entire castle, forming a protective barrier in front of her. Kintoki dropped down and attacked, but wasn't able to break through.

"Damn...my Noble Phantasm is only Anti-Army…"

"Gae Bolg Alternative!" She jumped up and tossed her spear into the air, then kicked it towards him, making it split into numerous copies that assaulted him, knocking him into the ground and defeating him. Or so she thought…

"Kintoki, you really must be more careful." The woman now stood standing above him, blocking all of the spears that were headed towards him.

"I'm sorry, I thought that these were duels and that no one was allowed to interfere in them?" Scathach landed again and crossed her arms, looking at her.

"I am his guardian first and foremost, and so it does not matter to me anymore about this prior agreement. You fight both of us now."

"Well if that's the case, then I'm just going to send out another of mine too." Hayashi looked at Nero and nodded.

"Let's finish this while we still have the chance, Boss." Kintoki stood up.

"Yes. My name is Minamoto no Yorimitsu, also known as Raikou. I'm a Berserker." Lightning surged from her blade and Kintoki jumped back, preparing his Noble Phantasm again.

Hayashi got a better look at the woman. She had long sweeping purple hair tied at the end, and beautiful purple eyes with a warm face. She wore a skin tight light purple combat suit, with puffy sleeves, and a short piece of cloth draped over her huge breasts, attached to the collar of her outfit. Her arms were covered in a think black armor. Another cloth was tied around her waste, hanging over her crotch. She wore thin, long black boots, and had a katana strapped against her waist, the sheath covered in a tiger pelt.

"Damn. And I thought yours were big." He looked at Scathach and Jeanne.

"Master, please." Jeanne blushed, crossing her arms and looking away while Scathach simply looked back at the new threat.

"Golden Spark!" Kintoki jumped into the air again, supercharged his axe, and fell down towards Nero this time, who sighed, seemingly not amused by it.

"Perhaps before these past few months, that move would be more intimidating, but with all of the training and experience I've gained, not so much anymore. Aestus Domus Aurea!" She summoned her sword and stuck it into the ground, creating her theatre and trapping her and Kintoki in it.

"Laus Saint Claudius!" The two clashed, but Nero's quickly overpowered Kintoki's, slicing through him and sending him back to the Throne.

"Kintoki!" Raikou called out, but he had already disappeared, making her sigh, then become angry.

"Doujigiri Yasutsuna...lend me power." Her blade sparked up again, and she looked at both of her opponents.

"I, Raikou, shall become an Oni. Come to me, my loyal subjects, my limbs, my arms and armor...the Four Heavenly Kings themselves are as before you. Begin…! Ox-King Storm Call- The Inescapable Net of Heaven!" The sky darkened, and in a few flashes of lightning, four clones of Raikou were summoned, each wielding a different weapon, one a bow, one Kintoki's axe, another a sword with a red orange glow, and the fourth with a greenish lance. The one with the bow prepared an arrow with wind surrounding her, while the others jumped towards Nero, one using the axe, then the next slashing with the sword, and the third attacking with the lance. The one with the arrow then fired, and the main one spun around and streamed lightning off of her blade, going straight to her. Scathach had blocked each successfully with her spear until the lightning appeared, to which Hayashi stepped in front of her and took it head on, absorbing it.

"What…?!" She looked on in shock, and Hayashi stood there smiling at her, his own red lightning sparking from his body.

"It's unfortunate that I'm your opponent, Raikou. Lightning is the element I'm most proficient with. You can't beat me."

"Perhaps I can, then." Hayashi looked up too late, as Okita had already appeared in front of him and was sheathing her sword.

"Mumyou Sandanzuki!" Hayashi spit up blood and fell backwards onto the ground, making the others run up to him.

"What did you do to him?!" Nero asked angrily, slashing at her, but missing since she jumped backwards.

"My Noble Phantasm. Three instantaneous strikes to the heart. It's impossible to block all three since they are all aimed at the same point and occur at the same time. Even if you block one, the others will hit."

"Hehe...it doesn't hurt that bad, you know." Hayashi slowly sat up, shocking Okita and making Hijikata step forward.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you? First blocking Raikou's lightning, then surviving Okita's instant kill technique...your powers really are your saving grace." He locked eyes with Hayashi.

"Lord Hijikata…?" Raikou looked back at him for further instructions.

"Finish them quickly. As many as you can."

"Yes, my Lord. If that's the case, allow me to show you! Gozu Tennou, the Eastern Deity, Vajra of Indra. That is, the spear of the divine, made from sacred sacral bone. Now, come forth and annihilate every foe! Śakra's Vajra!"

'Why does she have that?!' Hayashi thought, stepping back and gritting his teeth.

Holding her hand out, storm clouds gathered over them and purple lightning flashed above her, a large, spearlike vajra appearing as she wrapped her hand around it, then began twirling it, channeling lightning, then tossing it straight at Hayashi, who was preparing to catch it.

'This won't work, but I can't think of anything else! I can't wield a divine weapon, but I also can't let one of them be hit by it, or they'll die!'

"Brave of you to attempt this, Hayashi Tsukamoto. I was able to acquire Gozu Tennou's vajra in my lifetime, or Indra, as he is known in Indian culture. It is my other Noble Phantasm. You will die if it hits you, as a person without divinity, even with your powers."

"Kill Master an I shall mutilate you." Nero said darkly, glaring at Raikou, who turned her attention to her.

"Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" Her strongest Noble Phantasm manifested, and Nero made her theatre fire a barrage of lasers at Raikou, who sighed and smiled, grabbing her sword again and dashing all around, avoiding each blast.

"Damn you…" Nero gritted her teeth, turning her sword into its silver form and igniting it.

"Fax Caelestis!"

"Doujigiri Yasutsuna!" Their blades clashed, and both fire and lightning exploded around them, Nero's mini reality marble disappeared, and they hit a stalemate, separating from each other.

"Black Arts Decapitating Method: Moonflower." Kato took the offensive while she was distracted, slashing through Raikou and defeating her, sending her back to the Throne.

Hayashi had put up his strongest force field to keep the vajra at bay, which was not that successful, but since Raikou had now vanished, so did her weapon, making Hayashi sigh in relief.

"So, it's down to us, Hijikata-san."

"Yeah." He stepped forward, now beside Okita, taking his sword out.

"Okita, why don't you step back and leave this to me?" He said, looking around at everyone, Scathach, Musashi, and Nobu still worn out.

"All of them?" She asked worriedly.

"No problem."

"Big talk, but let's see what happens when we actually go at it!" Scathach rushed at him, thrusting her spear straight at his heart. Without batting an eye, he calmly moved his fist to the right of where the spear was aimed, stopping it by just the force of pushing it away from him.

"That's impossible…!" Scathach tried to move it, but it wouldn't budge. Hijikata grabbed it and yanked it out of her grasp, moving it around to get a feel for it.

"Hmph. Interesting weapon. Heavy, but not too heavy. Extremely sturdy too, it can't be broken, even by me. It also seems to be calling out to you, as its true wielder. But a weapon is a weapon, it cannot discriminate. Consider this our return gift for betraying us, Scathach." He grabbed it with his other hand and reeled back, tossing it straight towards her. The others moved to defend her but it went fast enough that it impaled her almost instantly and sent her flying back a fair distance.

"Scathach!" Musashi stepped forward, readying her Noble Phantasm.

"Nioh Kurikara Shotenshou!"

"You think I'm going to let you finish using a technique like that?" He unsheathed his sword and slashed sideways, making quick work of Musashi by cutting through her torso. She fell over in a pool of blood.

"Damn you…Three Thousand-!" Nobu began as well, but Hijikata sheathed his sword and took his rifle out, aiming at her and firing, Kato stopping it by releasing her launcher from her back and firing a rocket that blew up his shrapnel from the blast. The two teamed up and went after him in close range, Nobu taking out her sword and Kato using her arm blades. Hijikata dodged their attacks easily and slashed Nobu with his own sword, then grabbed Kato by the hair and slammed her into the ground head first.

Wasting no time, he went over to Nero next, making quick work of her as well, then finishing off Jeanne, Altera, and Nightingale, the only one left being Hayashi.

"Well now, 'Master', are you going to stand up for your Servants? Or will you fall so easily just like they did?"

"I'm not going to let you get away. I can't afford to." He snapped his fingers on both hands, creating a current of electricity.

"Then let's see what you can do!" He dashed at Hayashi and reached into his coat, taking out a pistol, and firing it at him. Hayashi stood there and took the shots, wincing and surprising the Berserker, so that when they stood face to face, he grabbed his coat and used his electric spell to shock him.

"Heh. Hehehahahaha! Not gonna work. Sorry."

"What?"

"You're not the only one who uses lightning." His eyes sparked with red lightning and he unsheathed his sword. When Hayashi tried to get away, Hijikata grabbed him and slashed across his torso, deep enough to almost cut him in half.

"Guh…" As blood flew everywhere, he fell onto the ground, spitting it up as well, then stopping movement altogether, the wound too deep.

"MASTER!" They all cried out.

"I was wrong. You are just like them. What a disappointment you are, Hayashi. You've been able to summon all of these Heroic Spirits and fight off so many of our forces successfully, but then can't even last 30 seconds against me?" He pressed his shoe against his head.

'This can't be it. Come on, I have more power than this. But ever since I left the Association, I've become weaker. Why?' He moved his eyes over to the others, about the only part of his body he could move, and seeing that they couldn't move either, Hijikata making sure to injure them enough so that they couldn't get up.

"The point of this entire operation was to build your power up so that it enhances Angra's own strength when he takes you over. But the rest of you are just pains in the ass that we don't need. So let's fix that." He took his sword out and walked over to Scathach, placing his boot on her back, pressing her down into the ground.

"Since you're the strongest, I'll start with you." He raised it over her head and prepared to behead her.

'Damn it, Hayashi! Think! I have to figure out how to bring my powers back so that I can fight him on even ground! …..That's it! This better work…' He closed his eyes and tried to focus his powers into his head, focusing on what Angra looks like. His likeness came into focus, and he was able to connect with his mind, similar to how he was contacted by Angra.

 _The next thing he knew, he was standing across from Angra, who looked surprised for a moment, then relaxed._

" _So you figured out how to link with me…"_

 _Hayashi took a look at his surroundings. He was now standing up again without any wounds, feeling as good as new. But everything around him was blank. It was just white space going on forever, except for the two of them._

" _Why is it so different? When you talk to me, you're able to send us to cities and insert people in."_

" _That's because that's my mind, I establish the link, meaning I control what happens. This time is the reverse. This is your mind, you can do whatever you wish." He crossed his arms._

 _Hayashi looked past Angra and concentrated, suddenly bringing Edmond and Salieri into the link as well, as well as creating a harpsichord for the latter, who sat down and began playing a slow and somber tune._

" _What have you done?" Edmond looked at him, Salieri glancing, continuing to play while looking away._

" _I linked with Angra. And I want you two to be here too, even if you're back in the Throne now." He looked at the musician, who watched him with curiosity._

" _Well? What did you bring us here for? You hate interacting with me." Angra tilted his head._

" _Teach me about your powers. They've diminished in the past week, and I need to know why, and to bring them back to where they were, probably even higher."_

" _...I'm afraid I can't do that." Angra sighed._

" _What do you mean? Teach me how to be a real Avenger! All of you!"_

" _Hehe...you don't really get how it works, do you?" Edmond chuckled._

" _Each Avenger's powers are unique. We can't teach you how to make yours work for you because we're not you." Salieri scoffed._

" _Even if they're my own abilities, we are very different people." Angra told him._

" _Do you remember what I said to you in Bran Castle?" Edmond looked at him seriously. "That a pseudo Avenger like you is no match for me. You are only human after all, your grudge is nothing compared to mine, something that defines me, that I have to live with for an eternity, even if it was satisfied in my lifetime. The same goes for the two of them. The Grail is cruel and unfair, and there's a world of difference between being a human Avenger and being a Servant with the class."_

" _Let my anger consume me?" Hayashi looked down at his hands._

" _Not necessarily." Angra jumped in again. "In my case, I died despising humanity, but eventually forced myself to forgive them. My grudge did not go away, but it became one with me, so much so that I don't even notice it. I do not hate humans, nor do I love them by any means. My powers are simply me enacting my will for what I choose. Nothing alters them, and getting angrier won't make them more prevalent. Now in your case…"_

" _...I don't hate humans either. Nor do I love them. I hate you. I hate Ozymandias. I hate Solomon, Edmond, and Hijikata. I love my Servants. But I'm not using this power for their protection, they can protect themselves."_

" _On the contrary, they seem to be doing poorly right now."_

" _I know! That's why I need to do this! But I'm not doing this for them, I'm really not! I'm doing this for the sake of the world!"_

" _Then that's your answer."_

" _What?" Hayashi could feel his link getting weaker, as his consciousness was probably beginning to fade. Salieri and his harpsichord disappeared, as did Edmond._

" _Your powers are reliant on anger after all, just a focused type of anger. Think of all the times you began to gain control over them and who you were fighting."_

" _...When I fought Caligula and Tesla in Rome, I went berserk. It was the first time I used them in three years, but that was because of his Noble Phantasm's influence. It sparked them up again in Aachen, fighting against Columbus. But I had better control over them, they just made me want to kill him. Next was against Vlad...I was able to use Verg Avesta for the first time, and there weren't any adverse effects on my mind...then it was Yan Qing and Kiritsugu. Nothing went wrong. Then Merlin. I could use my Noble Phantasm multiple times, though it took its toll on my body in the long term. Against Brynhildr, I could use your skills. Against Quetzalcoatl, I could absorb lightning to power me up further. Against Lorelei, I could heal all of my wounds instantly and defeat her much more easily than without using them. And against Anastasia, even a demon of old folklore wasn't a problem…"_

" _And what do they all have in common? You're not fighting on behalf of your servants, you're not fighting for them at all. You're not protecting them, and you can't be angry at them for personal reasons."_

" _...! I'm stopping them from achieving your goal…I'm angry because if they win, they change the world."_

" _Exactly. Your fuel seems to be fighting on behalf of the planet and its population. You're certainly no hero, but it goes against your beliefs. You seem to have figured it out, so I'll be cutting this link. I'll see you sooner rather than later." He waved, disappearing, leaving Hayashi alone in his mind._

" _...I need to picture the world in Angra's image, changed for the worst. That will make me more determined to fight, and increase my powers beyond what they used to be…" He looked up, cutting off his subconscious, and returning back to his wounded body._

"Goodbye, Scathach." Hijikata prepared to lower his sword.

Hayashi suddenly felt a surge of power through his body, and his wounds began to heal once again. He got up and knocked Hijikata away in a flash, not fazing the samurai, but making him angry.

Hayashi now stood protectively over Scathach, his eyes sparking with red lightning once again, and an electric current surging through his body.

"Oh hoh...you're stronger than before. What did you do in just a few seconds? A spur of the moment boost?"

"No."

"I see. Well, don't think you can beat me now just because you're fighting for your friends."

"I'm not fighting for my friends."

"What?"

Hayashi walked over to Musashi and picked up one of her swords, then dashed over to Okita in the blink of an eye, stabbing her in the heart by catching her off guard.

"H-Hijikata...san…" He turned the blade sideways and pulled out forcefully, releasing a lot of pent up blood that sprayed everywhere, her falling over next to him with a thud.

"Okita…!" He bent down and held her.

"H-Hijikata-san...what happened…?"

"I'll kill him for this…"

"No, you mustn't...remember why we're doing this…" she coughed. He looked down sadly.

"But when we succeed...I won't see you again...you'll be in the Throne and I'll be here…"

"It's fine...you'll be doing the right thing…" Okita fully disappeared, Hijikata standing up and unsheathing his sword, facing across from Hayashi.

"Are you angry? Are you going to kill me?" Hayashi asked.

"Angry? Yes. Kill you, no. I have a duty to perform, and you're not going to stop me from performing it."

The two's eyes locked, and they ran at each other, gritting their teeth. As they picked up speed, Hayashi's powers increased, red lightning sparking in his eyes, Hijikata doing the same.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Finally meeting up, they clashed, their swords hitting each other, the sound of clanging steel ringing out throughout the area. Hijikata used his free hand to grab his pistol and aimed it at Hayashi, who kicked upward, sending the gun spiraling into the air. Hijikata instead went for his rifle, firing into Hayashi, sending him recoiling back. He gritted his teeth, but his wounds healed fast, and he was on his feet again, rushing at him.

"You think that you can fight me on even ground now just because of a near-death experience? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" He fired multiple shots at Hayashi, who dodged each, taking out his own SMG and firing numerous rounds at him. Hijikata dodged them with the same level of skill, spinning out of the way, deflecting some with his blade, and sidestepping others.

"A modern gun and you still can't hit me!"

"Shut up!" Hayashi reloaded and began firing again, Hijikata continuing to dodge, making his way up to Hayashi's front and slashing, making him counter with Musashi's katana again, swinging his gun back behind him. Hijikata's slash was much stronger, and knocked the sword out of his hands. Hayashi used reinforcement on his hand to swing his gun around to the front and place it against Hijikata's chin in a half a second, but the Berserker had predicted the move and punched Hayashi in the stomach to stop him from pulling the trigger, then swept his feet out from under him.

"Damn it…!" He fell and hit his head on the ground, dropping his gun.

"Now die, Hayashi." Hijikata stood over him and held his sword upside down now, the blade pointed at his heart.

'I thought they weren't supposed to kill me on Angra's orders...Hijikata's been overcome by his own bloodlust.'

Hayashi rolled out of the way as Hijikata plunged the katana downward, and jumped back up to his feet. He activated his powers, and punched Hijikata in the face multiple times, alternating fists. With the fifth hit, he broke his nose, and with the sixth, knocked one of his teeth out. With the seventh and final, he used another reinforcement spell in his arm and upon contact, Hijikata was sent flying back into the woods near the palace. Hayashi bent over, catching his breath, listening for the Berserker, but not hearing anything. He began to walk towards Florence to heal her, but stopped when he heard the trees rustling, turning back to them.

Before long, Hijikata was visible, red lightning streaming out of both of his eyes, glowing with rage.

"The Flag of Sincerity...is undying! Slash! Advance! Slash! Advance!"

Hayashi stomped on the tip of Musashi's blade, sending it spinning up into the air where he caught it.

"Verg Avesta!"

"Master, no!" Florence cried. He ignored her and slashed one of his arms, the same damage reflected on Hijikata, but not slowing him down at all.

He tried again, this time on his legs, but again Hijikata only stumbled for a brief moment before picking up his regular speed.

"Damn you!" He reluctantly plunged the sword into his chest, making Hijikata stop, both of them spitting up pulled it out and tossed it, his wounds healing once again, and growling due to the intense burning sensation returning.

Hijikata looked down at his chest, seeing blood start to trickle from under his clothes. He unsnapped his coat and tossed it to the side, then began dashing after Hayashi again.

"Damn it! That's...impossible…!"

"I AM!" He leapt at Hayashi and landed in front of him, slashing down his front diagonally, the deepest wound so far. He spit up blood and the color began to drain from his eyes.

"THE!" he slashed the other way now, making an x shape in his body.

"SHIN!" He slashed downard starting from his neck and going down to his abdomen.

"SEN!" Another slash sideways across his chest.

"GUMI!" He used his free hand to grab his rifle and twirled it in the air, placing the barrel against Hayashi's chest. The rifle gathered energy, something new this time, then fired a blast of energy stronger than any bullet, blowing a huge hole in Hayashi, his heart obliterated. What remained of him was sent back far through the forest, crashing into the trees, his blood staining the leaves red.

"MASTER!" All of his servants screamed, still unable to do anything due to the injuries they had suffered.

Hijikata had calmed down, his berserk tendencies gone.

"I had better go make sure he's dead…" He began to walk towards the forest, before finding Scathach standing in front of him, through sheer willpower.

"You will not...touch him…" she gasped.

"Get out of my way." He knocked her aside with a backfist, then continued walking to where Hayashi was.

Before long, he made it there, seeing the amount of blood that was flowing, and realizing that he was already dead.

"N-No…! Guys…!" Jeanne noticed that she was starting to disappear, the others becoming bewildered as the same thing happened to them.

"So...I succeeded where the others didn't...I beat you after all…"

"Too much, it seems. You reckless fool." Hijikata's eyes widened, looking up to see Solomon standing over Hayashi.

"What...are you doing here…?"

"Correcting your mistake. Ars Paulina." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly they were in an entirely different realm, with floating mountains everywhere, a large spherical rift in space-time above, and a few endless marble columns surrounding some flights of wide marble stairs, with an elaborately designed throne at the top.

"What do you mean, correcting my mistake?!" Hijikata asked in an annoyed tone, cleaning the blood off of his blade and resheathing it.

"You're not supposed to kill him, you idiot Berserker. You lost sight of our mission." Solomon's nine rings on his fingers began to shine, and he quickly created a table, then waved one of his hands over Hayashi's body and gestured for it to be moved onto the table, the body floating up and landing where he wanted.

He then held his hand over Hayashi's giant gaping hole in his chest and created a force field around his body, the wounds beginning to heal back to full, and a new heart starting to form and connect to the rest of him. His chest healed up, and the life went back into his eyes, his consciousness returning to him.

"...Huh….? What...happened…?" He slowly began to look around, taking notice of Hijikata immediately, and jumping up, going on guard. He became even more nervous when he saw his "doctor."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Solomon?!" Hijikata yelled.

Hayashi looked back at him.

"I already killed him! What need was there to bring him back again?!"

'Killed...me?!' Hayashi looked bewildered for a moment before remembering the sword wounds and rifle blast.

"Now I have to do it again." He reached for his sword before Solomon's rings sparked up red lightning and he paralyzed Hijikata, holding him in place by shooting it off of his fingers, creating a cage of electricity around him.

"What the…?! Solomon!"

"Try to calm down and think, you imbecile. Your mind is still not all the way back yet."

'Should I do something about him, or just stay put?' Hayashi sweated. His question was answered for him when Solomon turned around and did the same to him, trapping him in the same cage.

"Argh!"

"I'm not taking any chances with you, either. I just saved your life, I'd hope you respect me enough to not plot about killing me. Like you could anyway." He turned his attention back to Hijikata.

"You said it yourself earlier. We cannot kill Hayashi or our plan is ruined. We need to allow him to survive and become stronger. It seems that you became involved with the fight so much that you forgot about that part. What is Angra going to do if his vessel dies?"

Hijikata growled and looked away.

"The stronger Hayashi becomes, the better off we are. If he dies, Angra remains weak, like you are to me."

"Damn you…!" Solomon tightened the space, closing the cage.

"You can't even break out of this simple spell that costs me almost no mana. If Hayashi can't even beat you, he certainly can't beat me. Come, we should return. We've finished our business here. You failed, just like all of the others."

"Failed?! I survived!"

"And would have left him for dead had I not intervened. You're done here. My orders. Besides, we are right on schedule for the ritual. It will happen soon. Your underlings' magic energy has been added to the pool already."

"...Fine." Solomon undid the cages and Hijikata picked up his coat, slinging it over his shoulder. Solomon also broke apart his Noble Phantasm, bringing them back to the real world, and the two of them began to turn into spirit form and head back towards Egypt.

"Ugh…" Hayashi slowly left the forest and re-entered the palace grounds, noticing that Hijikata's reality marble had been destroyed since he could hear the sounds of the city again.

His Servants were still there, not fading away anymore, and now sitting up, healed by Florence and Sakura, who were standing nearby.

"M-Master!" They ran over to him, Hayashi falling onto his knees, looking down in somber thought.

"Are you alright, Hayashi?!" Sakura asked, the others crowding around him. Nightingale leapt in and hugged him tightly, Hayahsi wrapping an arm around her.

"I don't...know...I'm alive, at least…"

"How…?" Jeanne asked. "I saw myself begin to fade away…" She looked at her hands, which were fully there again.

"He killed me…" He said, almost inaudible, but just loud enough for the others to hear. "Solomon...revived me somehow…"

"How...do you feel now?" Scathach asked.

"My powers are stronger, but I still have that burning sensation whenever I use Verg Avesta. I only did it out of desperation this time. Girls...Solomon was far stronger than Hijikata, and we didn't stand a chance against him...are we really strong enough to do this…?"

They all stood in silence, shaken from the events of that day and how badly they were beaten by the samurai.

"We'll just have to find a way, Master. We will." Scathach smiled at him, and he sighed.

"Sakura, where did you bring the Imperial Family?"

"They're at the hospital, recovering. They didn't have any wounds, they were just scared. They're being released tomorrow, and wanted you to meet them here to talk."

"I see. Thank you. But for now...we should find a hotel and rest. I...need to think." He slowly got up and started to walk towards the city, the other servants following.

 **X**

Hayashi spared no expense, getting the largest and most luxurious suite at the hotel they went to. Later on, they went downstairs for dinner.

"I'm going to go back up into our room and use the tub."

"Relax and enjoy yourself, Master." Jeanne smiled.

"'Enjoy myself?'" he asked, laughing a bit.

"You know what I mean." She giggled. He smiled back at her and went up to his room, losing his clothes once he was in.

Filling up the traditional wooden tub from the accompanying wooden faucet. The water now being hot enough, he got in, looking out the windows to the view they had of Mount Arashiyama. **[A/N: This is a real room, the presidential suite in the Suiran Luxury Hotel.]**

The Emperor wanted to meet with him tomorrow? To thank him, possibly. But did he deserve his praise? And would he berate him after finding out that Hijikata got away? He didn't know if he deserved his disapproval either. He tried his hardest to beat him, but it wasn't good enough, not even close.

Now he had something new to worry about. He had been focused on defeating each group as they appear, but now the leaders have become strong enough to really pose a threat to his whole group, despite having many powerful servants on his team. Hijikata was bad enough, but now there was still Edmond, Solomon, and…

No wonder why Jeanne was scared of him. The strongest of the inner circle and Angra's right hand, the one who he relied on for strength and influence. They still didn't know the full extent of Ozymandias' strength, but it must be monstrous. They'd have to figure out a way to beat him though, they couldn't afford to fail.

There was a knock on the door, and it opened, Musashi walking in.

"What is it?"

"Do you...mind if I join you? I thought you could use some company."

"...Sure." She smiled shyly and stripped off her own clothes, opening the sliding wooden door to enter the tub with him.

Since samurai were trained to fight, they almost always had ideal body shapes. Not many samurais were female, but Musashi had the exact equivalent of that for a female. Her breasts were huge, the same size as Jeanne's and almost as big as Nightingale's and Scathach's. Her ass was also no small feat, also as big as Jeanne's and Altera's, not quite Scathach's size. Her stomach was toned and soft, and her arms were thin, her legs and thighs thick.

Sighing, she took her hair ornament out and placed it to the side, her wavy pink hair falling down to her back, then stepped in with him, sitting across from him on the other step.

Musashi was less embarrassed about her body and female charms than Jeanne, but still more than the others. She was straightforward about joining Hayashi in the tub, but would blush and look away, sometimes even cover herself whenever he looked at her.

"Hey, Master…"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me...about your sister."

"...Why?"

"I, um...wanted to take your mind off of Hijikata and the others for a while. Was it premature to ask you about her?"

"...No, I suppose not. By now, all of you have had the dream about my past, or so I've been told by Jeanne."

"Yes."

"Nero was the first one I told, but Jeanne was the first to experience it. We were confused at first as to why you as Servants were experiencing my past, since it's normally the other way around. But it must be because part of Angra lives within me, which classifies me as a Pseudo-Servant. Still though, it's strange that I haven't gotten any dreams from any of you."

"I don't think it really matters much, in my opinion. You're already as close to us as you can possibly get." she smiled.

"Heh...thanks. Koharu was the best. My family has been a mage family in Japan since the 1700s, but the talent skipped generations, so we never produced outstanding heirs every time like the Barthomelois, Matous, or Tohsakas. My father could use a few basic spells, a trait which he passed on to my sister, but that special prodigal trait was given to me. She doted on me, wanted to see me succeed, as the first person in our family with magic talent this high in generations. Since my great-grandparents also moved to London in the Taishou era, just after World War 1 had finished, I could study at the Academy and work at the Clock Tower much easier. They had a bad feeling about what was going to happen to the country in the future and wanted to be safer, something they correctly predicted. Especially when I started to succeed in my studies, and climb the ranks of the mages in the tower, she spent extra time with me, taking me out for meals and for fun, or just listening to the work I've been doing, despite the busyness of her own job."

"It must have been devastating when you lost her…" she mumbled.

"Yes. I never really got over it...until I met you all.'

"Aw, Master~" she blushed.

"It's true. After the incident, I had no one else to turn to, really. Zelretch is no fun to talk to, and you know how Lorelei and I ended up. Rin and Shirou did approach me after hearing about it, knowing a little bit about Angra from their time participating in the last Holy Grail War. But no matter how they tried to help, at the end of the day they worked for the Association, and I knew that if push came to shove, they would be ordered to come after and detain me for my Sealing Designation. So I put distance between us to spare them of too personal a connection if that happened."

"On the one hand, I'd say that's smart of you, but on the other, you should have done the opposite." They looked through the openings in the wooden door to see Nobu step in, and start to strip her own clothes off.

"Will you be joining us too?" Hayashi asked, laying his head back against the surface of the tub.

"I figured why not? I haven't used a traditional tub in centuries after all."

Sliding the door open, she revealed herself to Hayashi.

"The others will be downstairs for a while longer, we don't have to worry. Is there enough room for three? If not, I can sit on Master's lap."

"There's just enough, but it will be tight."

"Good enough for me." Musashi moved over next to Hayashi, and Nobu got in.

Her body was not as ample as some of the others, partly because of her short stature. Her breasts were B cup, about as big as Altera's, perhaps a little smaller. Her ass was pretty plump, but again not as big as Altera's, Jeanne's, or Scathach's, though those were pretty high bars to hit. Nobu had no shame whatsoever in displaying herself to them. It was strange to think that this was the person who once toppled every other clan in the country and took control of it.

"So anyways, as I was saying, it was smart of you to not get too close to them, but it might have also paid off. If you did, they might have sided with you and joined us, maybe even summon servants of their own, who knows?"

"If we were having this conversation the other day, I may have been inclined to believe you, but after today, I think it's good that we didn't get them involved. Even with their own servants, they wouldn't be able to stand against the inner circle, and I'd never forgive myself if they got hurt because of me. Sakura either, now"

"Hm. That's a good point."

"Still though, Master, we should think about how we're going to stand up to them. At this point, if members of the Inner Circle are coming after you personally, it means that they're running out of lackeys to send. That means that we're going to start facing the other members again soon, and we should have a plan rather than just jumping in like we usually do. We're strong, but we're very outclassed if Hijikata is the weakest of the four of them." Musashi told him.

"I think...I do have something in mind...I don't know if it'll work, but it's all that I have to go on…" He didn't say anything more, prompting the other two to look at him.

"Master, aren't you going to tell us what it is?" He smirked at them.

"Tell you what. I'll tell you if you have sex with me."

They paused for a moment, absorbing what he just said. Musashi blushed heavily and covered herself, while Nobu shrugged.

"Sure." Nobu smiled, standing up and sitting down on his lap facing him.

"N-Nobu?!" Musashi stammered.

"Come on, Musashi, there's no point in thinking about it. Plus, all of us love Master, don't we?"

"W-Well, yes, but…!"

"I know you were chaste, but come on. Look at yourself. Didn't people want to have sex with you even if you turned them down?"

"N-No, not really...I was a wanderer, people had better things to do than pursue me."

"Well, let's fix that." Hayashi motioned to his hand.

"I have command seals, I can always make you comply. But I think it would be nicer if you got into it on your own."

"Ugh...fine." She sighed, bending down and beginning to give him a blowjob, while Nobu continued making out with him.

"You haven't been in Japan in 3 years, right? What do you think about it?" Nobu asked in between kisses.

"I should be asking you that. It's been 400 years for both of you."

"I think it's great." Musashi mouthed.

"Me too. It's nostalgic." Nobu stood up and turned around.

"Musashi, switch. I don't have the boobs that you do, give them to Master. I have more experience in the ass department." She grinned.

"Mm." She popped his manhood out of her mouth and switched spots. Nobu went down on him with her big butt, and Musashi with hers hugged Hayashi tightly, sitting on his lap. He leaned in and kissed her, enjoying her sweet taste.

"Mm...you taste the best so far. Sweet and flowery."

"Master, you're embarrassing me."

"It's true." He went back in for more, this time groping her breasts, too. He groaned, also feeling the pleasure of Nobu suck him off.

"Mmm…" He looked down at what was hitting him while making out with his samurai servant.

"Oh, Musashi." He pulled away, smirking.

"Y-Yes?" she asked, panting.

"Your ass."

"M-My ass?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's big, and it's smacking against me while you're moving around."

"S-Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I love it." Hayashi shivered as he released his seed inside of Nobu's mouth while she gulped it down and wiped her mouth.

"It is a marvel." Nobu admired, staring at it.

"Hey!" Musashi turned around and crossed her arms, glaring at her.

"What? I've slept with both men and women, I know a pretty girl when I see one. Your ass might actually be the biggest I've ever seen, though I haven't seen Jeanne's or Scathach's to compare like Master has."

Musashi was steaming at this point.

"Alright, well, bend over, it's about that time." He joked, standing up and stretching.

"A-Alright." Musashi went over to the edge of the tub and leaned over, sticking her ass to him.

"Where would you like me~?" Nobu asked, sliding her hands down his arm.

"Actually...why don't you do stuff to Musashi with me?"

"M-Master…?!" Musashi blushed and looked over her shoulder at the two of them plotting.

"Make her feel good. You know what to do."

"Of course." She licked her lips, sitting down on one of the seats so that she was directly under Musashi.

"Ready?" Hayashi asked.

"Y-Yes, I suppose…"

"Good." He inserted himself into her ass, making her gasp a little bit before moaning as he went in and out of her.

"My turn. Now which do you prefer, boobs or pussy?" Nobu looked up at her, waiting for an answer.

"Uggghhhh…." she moaned, already getting ready to cum from what was happening to the other side of her.

"Eh, I'll do both at once." she shrugged, reaching her right hand over to her most sacred entrance and beginning to rub it and thrust two fingers out of it, and her left hand groping and massaging one of her giant boobs. She then brought her mouth up to her other breast and began to suck and lick her nipple.

Musashi could barely take it all. So much pleasure, coming out of every possible place that the female body could use. She was a samurai and a teacher, she wasn't supposed to be doing this kind of thing, but another, more embarrassing part of her loved it, and she wanted to kiss and fuck her Master all day long.

She couldn't hold it anymore after only another 20 seconds. She almost felt bloated with how much cum was ready to explode out of her.

"M-Master! Nobu! You have to take one of them out!" She screamed.

"Well, I don't want you making a mess in the water...you're gonna have to wait for another minute." he smirked, making her gasp. Pulling the plug and allowing the water to drain, Musashi continued moaning and whining even though both of them had stopped. They made sure to keep her holes plugged though.

"Alright then, are you ready?" He asked both of them.

"Yep." Nobu responded.

"Haaaa!" Musashi whimpered.

"3...2...1...here we go!" Hayashi pulled out, and Nobu removed her hand, allowing Musashi to finally release everything. And boy, did she. She gushed out, almost as if she peed herself, the stream of fluid making Nobu have to jump out and Hayashi have to back up to not be splashed by it. It finally petered out, and, still dripping, Musashi fell against the side of the tub, out of breath.

"...Fucking shit. You are beyond compare." Hayashi blinked.

"Seriously…" Nobu chuckled.

"I-I'm so embarrassed…" She propped herself up and went to cover her lady parts, but stopped when she realized how soaked they were.

"Ah...I have to wash myself…"

"Alright, alright, let's go into the shower." Hayashi filled the tub a little bit again to clean it out, then went into the bathroom with the others, entering the shower and cleaning their bodies.

Getting out and wrapping themselves in towels, they sat down on their beds, hearing a knock on the door, as the others came in.

"Master, how are you feeling?" Florence asked, before noticing that the three of them were all naked.

"Better now."

"I can see that." She and Nero smiled at him, with Altera and Kato remaining indifferent, and Jeanne of course blushing.

 **X**

"Why didn't you take all of the others?" Nobu asked.

"I don't want to overwhelm them. It's not that I don't trust the others, but they'll be more familiar with you two, of course."

Hayashi, Nobu, and Musashi walked up to the palace, finding Sakura waiting for them at the entrance.

"They're expecting you. Come on in." Sakura motioned for them to enter the grounds. She led them into the enormous grounds again and brought them to the main building, away from where they were the day before, where the open grounds were. They walked up the steps and opened the sliding door, Sakura bowing to them.

"Your Majesty, Hayashi Tsukamoto is here."

"Ah, good. Hayashi, if I may call you that, please come in and make yourself at home."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty." Hayashi and the others walked in, seeing all of them sitting in various places in the room, set up like a den. There were some tables and chairs, and also shelves lined with old possessions of the Imperial Family.

"Oh, and some of your friends are here as well. Come in, have a seat wherever." The Empress took note of the other two.

"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty, but don't mind us." Musashi smiled and bowed to her, Nobu beginning to look around the room curiously.

"Before I introduce them, Your Majesties, I must ask you...do you know what the Holy Grail is, or the Holy Grail War for that matter?"

"Yes, of course."

"Wha-? Really?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes, of course. You could say that our family is the oldest mage family in the country's history."

"Y-You're all mages?!"

"No no, not anymore. My Great-Grandfather, Meiji, was the last one of us with any magical talent. With the modernization of our country, he decided to move past magic and not wreak havoc in addition to modern warfare. So he didn't teach my grandfather Taisho anything. But our early ancestors, particularly Emperor Jimmu, our first emperor, was an extremely powerful individual, partly due to his descendance from Amaterasu. In fact, he was made a servant after his death."

"How do you know?"

"A Japanese noble once participated in a Holy Grail War a few centuries ago, and it was recorded that they summoned Jimmu as a Saber class servant."

"I see. In that case, this is Miyamoto Musashi. And that one over there is Oda Nobunaga."

"M-My Lord?!" they all turned to Nobu and began to bow before her hand motioned for them to stop.

"Don't worry about it. Just call me Nobu." She said, examining an old painting of Emperor Meiji.

"V-Very well." Akihito sweated, then looked back at the other one.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Lady Musashi."

"Oh, please, you don't have to address me as Lady, Your Majesty." she blushed.

"Now then, Your Majesty, about what happened."

"Yes."

"I do have to apologize for not arriving as soon as we should have. We were aware of Hijikata's ambitions, but thought that he would strike the capital, not here."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Hayashi. In the end, you saved us, and that's all that matters. And as a matter of fact, he did go to Tokyo first, and disabled the branch of the Mage's Association there, as well as killed some of the Yakuza leaders to send a message. He came after us afterwards to use us as bait and prevent the other two groups from interfering."

"I see. I'll apologize instead for losing to Hijikata and allowing him to get away, then…"

"...He hasn't been defeated?"

"No, he was forcefully taken back to his accomplices because of reckless behavior. Your Majesty, we do plan to find him and defeat him again, but for the time being, it would be best if you and your family stayed here rather than in the palace in Tokyo. If Hijikata returns, I imagine he'd go there instead, there's no reason for him to use you as bait anymore since he already knows that we'll be actively searching for him now."

"I understand. Tell me, what do they want?"

"Yes, this is the most important. Hijikata is working under another servant called Angra Mainyu. I don't know how involved you are in the magical world, but this was the same servant that possessed me three years ago and caused me to go on a rampage. He is essentially the Grail itself, as his darkness corrupted it into its current form. He gathered energy for three years and summoned himself back into this world a few months back. He then summoned a great deal of servants to assist him in his ambitions as well as many other 'foot soldiers' from their same culture to track me down and fight me."

"Track you down? And who are these other servants?"

"When we were separated from each other and I sent him back into the Throne, a part of his powers stayed within me, even to this day. He wants them back to become stronger. He summoned four Top Class servants to act as his will and power, Ramesses II, Solomon, Edmond Dantes, and Hijikata Toshizou. After that, he summoned other strong servants to serve as his officers, called Master Servants, consisting of Sherlock Holmes, Nikola Tesla, Charlemagne, Yan Qing, Merlin, and Scathach, who is now contracted with me. They want to begin using magecraft again in the public eye, thinking that the world will be better with it."

"Are they crazy?! With the amount of corrupt governments and officials already around today? Magic would only make things worse!"

"Yes, my sentiments exactly. We've defeated most of them already though, as I've said. You have nothing to worry about." he sweated a little as he said that.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. I don't want to put a lot of pressure on you, but if you don't stop them, the world will be turned upside down. This is not just for me or my family."

"I'm already aware of that, Your Majesty. I've been fighting for the world this whole time."

"Good. Thank you for everything, Hayashi. We wish you luck on your travels."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. We'll take our leave now."

 **X**

Hayashi took the two of them up to a hill with blooming cherry blossoms, overlooking the city. Nobu leaned against the tree, looking down upon the capital solemnly.

"What is it?"

"Nostalgia. Memories. And sadness. Is this how Nero felt seeing Rome again? Or Scathach about the Isle of Skye? Or Mozart about Vienna? It is...strange to be looking upon my city again, 500 years after I was last here."

"It has prospered well."

"Yes. I am glad to see how it is today; modern, but still keeping much of its ancient traditions."

"You know, if you want...I can take you to Honno-ji."

"W-What?!" She looked back at him.

"It's not the same one you're familiar with, it was rebuilt in a different location. If it brings up bad memories, then forget I asked, but I thought it might give you a sense of peace if you go in and know that what happened last time won't happen again."

"Hmm...you know what, that does sound good. Let's go."

 **X**

Nobu did enjoy it, and they ended up finding the others shopping, getting back together into the usual group.

"Hey, Sakura." Hayashi looked at her as they were on their way back to the hotel.

"Yes?"

"You still have the Crest Worms inside you, right?"

"Y-Yes." she said hesitantly.

"We should remove them."

"What? Do you know how?"

"Yeah, we can manage something. We'll have to perform surgery on your torso, but I could kill them, and Berserker could heal you with her powers, making you go back to normal."

"...That would be nice, but I don't know…"

"With Zouken dead and Shinji not involved in magecraft anymore, you're in charge of the Matou family from now on. And you shouldn't have to worry about something as grotesque as that controlling you."

"Yes. Are you sure that you can pull it off?"

"No. But I think it's worth the risk."

"...Alright. Let's do it."

Returning to the Imperial Palace, they were given a room to perform in, Nightingale and Hayashi preparing the operation.

Sakura stripped her top off and laid down on the table, embarrassed that Hayashi would look at her bare chest.

"Here. Cover yourself if you're that worried about it." He tossed her a thin blanket. She did so, and Nightingale walked over with a scalpel ready.

Hayashi used command magic on her to fall asleep and feel no pain during the operation, a magecraft equivalent to anesthesia.

Nightingale nodded at him, beginning to cut her torso and stomach open carefully. Inside were numerous small crest worms, very tiny and mostly inactive, but there nonetheless.

"How disgusting." Nightingale turned away slightly.

Hayashi carefully put his hand just over them, and created an arc of lightning, zapping all of them and killing them.

"Now how to get them out without making a mess...hmm…" Hayashi removed his hand and thought.

"I will simply have to scoop them out without causing damage. It will take a few minutes, but it is the safest way." Nightingale did as she said with a sort of ladle, dropping them into a trash can next to them. It took about five minutes, but when she was done, Sakura looked to be free of them.

"Alright. Nursing of Steel." She used her healing magic to clean up her insides and make them look good as new, then sewed her body shut, and once again used it to fade the scar out and make it disappear.

"She should remain sleeping for another hour or so. In the meantime, how will you dispose of these?" Nightingale asked, taking her surgical mask off and pointing to the bucket.

The next thing she was doing was standing next to Hayashi as he shot lightning into the bucket three more times, then lit them on fire until there was nothing left.

"Alright, that takes care of that." He said, clapping his hands together and carrying the trash back in, pleased with himself, Nightingale shaking her head.

Waiting around for Sakura to rest, Nobu spent time with the princesses, asking them what they knew about the country's history, the others wandering the grounds, and Jeanne sitting with Hayashi on the porch of the main house.

"Master, this used to be your family's home, no?" Jeanne asked. "It is beautiful here."

"Yes. Though I don't have nearly as much connection to this city as the others do. "You know...I wanted to take you to your hometown while we were in France. I'm sorry we didn't get around to it."

"Oh, Master...thank you for the gesture, but I wasn't concerned about it. Our time in France was taken up...partying...and with you healing…" she blushed a bit.

"Yeah, I guess we didn't spend it too thoughtfully, did we? We didn't even get to go to Paris and see your statue."

"S-Statue?"

"Yeah, there's a giant gold statue of you in Paris. Here." He looked it up on his phone and showed her.

"I'm not deserving of such a thing, to be honest." she laughed nervously.

"Yes you are. You're more of a hero than I am, Jeanne. And don't ever forget that."

"I wouldn't say that. You're saving the world, all I did was help my country."

"You're humble though. And very inspiring to your people. I'm acting on my own, and I'm not afraid to hurt others, unlike you. I don't deserve anything like a statue."

"You're fine just the way you are, Master." she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks."

 **X**

"Thank you again, Hayashi. You did more than I could have ever asked for." Sakura said kindly while they pulled up back at the Einzbern castle.

"Actually, I didn't finish what you asked me. I saved the Imperial Family, but Hijikata's still out there, regrouped with the others. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help more."

"But you saved the Imperial Family, and that's the most important part. And you made my body normal again."

"Yes, but also...now our problem has become public. Something I was really trying to avoid. Hijikata went on live television threatening the Emperor's life, and the Yakuza and Association had to cover up the mania and say that the family was safe once again. It'll also be hard to ignore questioning about that now in their public appearances."

"It'll be okay. It'll all work out."

"I sure hope so. Did you want to stay here for the night? It might be good to stay in our care a little longer until we leave on our next 'expedition.'"

"Yes, that might be good for me."

 **X**

Later that night, after eating dinner, the others watched TV while Hayashi came out to the watchtower to smoke and enjoy the cool breeze of the night.

"Enjoying your alone time?" A confident voice said behind him. Hayashi's eyes twitched, and he instantly activated his powers and swung around, going to punch him, but it was easily caught, blowing his hair a little bit.

Standing before him was Ozymandias, looking at him unimpressed, gripping his wrist without much effort.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hayashi growled.

"We've never formally met. I was also going to apologize on Hijikata's behalf for his ignorant behavior. But I suppose that's what happens when you leave a Berserker in charge."

"I don't want your apology."

"No? Would you like something from my personal collection instead? I could always give you a priceless artifact of mine, or perhaps simply money."

"I don't need anything of yours. You've been terrorizing my Servants and I since the beginning."

"Terrorizing? Haha, I'm afraid you have that backwards. Did you forget what happened in Rome? Had I not interfered, you would have lost to Tesla then and there. And I have never personally interfered in your mission."

"And everything else? Blackmailing Jeanne, purchasing the casino in Monte Carlo, being in charge of this entire operation on behalf of Avenger. You are pretty much the reason we're doing this, let's be honest."

"I cannot deny that. But why fight it, Hayashi? Do you not see what magic can do for the world?"

"The most recent thing magic did for the world was threatening the lives of the Japanese Imperial Household. And before that was setting fire to a great deal of London, and killing hundreds of people. And before that was traumatizing teenagers through a war they were unfamiliar with. And before that was burning a city to the ground and ripping those teenagers' families apart."

"All results of the Holy Grail War's influence. We are not talking about that. In my day, magic was quite common knowledge. I remember studying the ancient texts about the gods when I was a child with my father. And look at what happened. The largest and most prosperous age Egypt ever saw, even by today's standards. Ever since my country's annexation to Rome, it's been in a constant state of political turmoil, uprising, and establishment, only to fall again. In fact, you could say that about any country. So by having leaders that have knowledge and comprehension that others don't possess, they look up to us for their information, their strategies, and their decisions. Their loyalty."

"And try to assassinate you in the process to take it for themselves!"

"And you think they'd be able to? With their pitiful levels of influence? That is the first thing we thought of, and we will not let it happen. It isn't just us either. When enough time passes to summon more servants, we can redo our experiment with them, and put them in charge of China, France, Britain, America, every other country."

"Servants are tragic beings." Hayashi shook his head. "Some of you are an exception to this rule, but many Servants are viewed negatively by their countries. Do you think that Italy would suddenly accept Nero as their leader again if she returned and wanted to take control?"

"That is why you take it by force. That is the way this world has always progressed, has your Conqueror-King Saber not taught you this already? Nothing in this world ever gets done by democracy. It eventually crumbles. And in today's world, forget it. No one can ever reach the same conclusion. That is why you need a sole ruler once again. Name one time that having an Authoritarian Government didn't end well."

"Empire of Japan."

"...Name three more."

"Communist China, Nazi Germany, Facsist Italy. Egypt was one too. Oh, and England's power over Ireland and Scotland."

"Yet none of them had the power that we do. Do you think that Cleopatra and Mark Antony would have been beaten by Rome if they had magic on their side?"

"..."

"You see now. We are not complete dictators. We care deeply about people. We can no longer afford to make things go back to the way they were. Even Hijikata knows this, Japan cannot become an isolationist country again, nor do they want to."

"You've been studying up on your history quite extensively I see."

"If one does not know what happened, one cannot know what will happen. History has a tendency to repeat itself."

"I'm still going to stop you. This world and its citizens would become radical and uncontrolled if magic was suddenly introduced to them. I don't believe in your plan."

"I welcome you to try, by all means. My own colleagues are awaiting you in Cairo if wish to continue chasing this end result of yours. But the clock's ticking. Before you know it, we'll have won. So long." He went into spirit form and left, laughing as he did.

 **End.**

 **Congratulations again to Prince Naruhito for ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne and becoming Emperor Reiwa!**


	12. Part 3: Cairo

**Arjuna: KARNAAAAAAA!**

 **Karna: ARJUNAAAAAAAA!**

 **Naruto & Sasuke: *Eating popcorn* They grow up so fast…**

 **Songs**

 **Karna and Arjuna: Lion Turtle Theme (Avatar The Last Airbender OST)**

 **Cairo: The Land of Ishvala (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Advertisement & Egyptian Museum: KV5 (Assassin's Creed Origins Curse of the Pharaohs OST)**

 **Assassination Attempt & Hayashi vs. Hassans: Lancer and Assassin (Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel OST)**

 **Ancient World Servants: The Tongueless Land (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

 **Vs. Nitocris and Rama: Return of the Medjay (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

 **Vs. Cleopatra and Enkidu: The Battle of Krokodilopolis (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

 **Vs. King Hassan: Legions of Blood (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

 **Vs. Arjuna: Agni Kai (Avatar The Last Airbender OST)**

 **Vs. Karna: Red Lotus Theme (Avatar The Legend of Korra OST)**

 **Return of the King of Kings: The Last Medjay (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

 **The Inner Circle Arrives: The Shimmering Sands (Assassin's Creed Origins OST)**

 **Angra Possesses Hayshi and Defeat: Prepared to do Anything (Sherlock OST)**

Ozymandias walked through the halls of the Heliopolis Palace, going into one of the sitting rooms to find Karna in one of the chairs and Arjuna standing at the bookshelf at the far wall, reading one of them.

"Is it time?" The Indian Demigod looked at him.

"Yes. I'm going to get your brother as well. Hayashi will be here in a few days considering the length of travel. How you attack them is up to you. Your most important assignment is to keep them away from my temple at Abu Simbel. That is where we'll be performing the ritual after all."

"Of course."

"And another thing. Most of you are Top Servants anyway, and I don't foresee Hayashi's team defeating all of you on their own. If that is the case, we will most likely be running short on mana in the pool to make all of us Grand Class. So, if the need arises, I will probably have to take your mana forcefully to make it happen."

"...I understand." Arjuna closed the book and turned to him.

"Good. Whenever you're ready."

 **X**

Arriving in Cairo, Hayashi and his team went outside the airport, seeing the bustling streets of the city, complete with traffic, vendors, and other travelers and shops.

"It's hard to imagine that there's any threat to this city when the people are just going about their daily lives like this." Nero said sadly.

"Yeah. But this city's been through a lot since its founding over 1000 years ago, and the people simply go on again after something finishes. Let's get to our hotel."

The hotel was luxurious as always, on par with both in Kyoto and Monte Carlo. Putting their things away, Jeanne laid down on the bed, turning on the TV and going to the news, the others sitting down and watching with her, Hayashi looking out the window towards the Heliopolis Palace.

" _The President has not been seen or heard from in weeks now, though officials assure us that he is safe and still working outside of the Heliopolis Palace."_ The news reporter said.

"Sounds like Rider has been in charge of things here longer than we thought." Jeanne looked over to Hayashi.

"Yes. He and his servants are most likely in the palace right now."

"Should we go and take them by surprise?" Nobu asked.

"No. They must have known that we're here since we landed, and going in blind in broad daylight is a bad choice. We'll wait until they make the first move and go from there."

"Hey, should we go look for the president and talk to him?" Nero asked. Hayashi shook his head.

"I don't trust Mubarak as much as I trust Akihito. He's a decent president I suppose, but Egypt has had numerous political problems and scandals for years now. I don't know that he's involved with anything, but I don't want to be watched by him, especially since he's not a mage."

" _In other news, the Egyptian Museum is offering a special discount to view the mummy room, hoping to convince people to see the mummified bodies of some of our most famous and powerful past Pharaohs, in further hopes of inspiring them that the president will be okay, and that Egypt will continue to endure this political mishap, as we have done so before."_

"Mummy room…? Jeanne…?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come with me on a short trip? I want to find something out."

"S-Sure."

The two of them went to the Egyptian Museum and paid both the fee to enter, plus the extra mummy room fee. Walking down the hall and entering into the room, the mummified bodies of the former pharaohs were presented to them in their own display cases.

"Ahmose I, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Seti I, and...here…" They stopped before one of them, stating that it was none other than…

"Ramesses II…" Jeanne muttered.

"So he can exist separately from his physical body after all."

"Of course, Master. All Servants are summoned separate from their body in life. I could have told you that without having to come here."

"No, I sort of figured that part. I'm wondering more if being so close to his body gives him an extra boost of any kind. Servants are at their most powerful the closer they are to their place or origin or their legend's place of origin. The city of Pi-Ramesses hasn't existed for thousands of years, so the closest he could get to his legend would be in Luxor today. Still being in Egypt gives him a massive power boost though, but what if his physical body is here, above ground?"

"I...don't know. My body burned to ash, so it does not make any difference when I'm summoned."

"...I suppose it doesn't matter much in the end, so let's just get back to the hotel for now."

 **X**

Later that night, they were all asleep in their respective beds, save for Jeanne and Hayashi, who were lying in bed together, masking their magic power from the palace.

"Master." she whispered.

"Yeah. Pretend we're asleep."

Outside, scaling the building, was a young and agile female servant, wearing a black bodysuit that left her stomach and back exposed, and wearing a white mask over her short purple hair.

Arriving at the window of Hayashi's room, she used one of her knives to carefully cut through the glass with magic, creating a space big enough to fit through. Silently moving to the bed, she set herself down on top of Hayashi and lifted her mask up to her head.

"Zabaniya." She leaned down and kissed his forehead, waiting for him to die as she pulled back and covered her face again. But nothing happened.

"Nice try, but that won't work on me." Hayashi said, making her gasp. He activated his powers and kicked her off of him up into the air, then used his hands to propel himself off of the bed and turn towards her. She held her arms up to shield herself as he kicked her, sending her crashing out the window and towards the streets. She regained her bearings and grabbed onto a nearby building, climbing up it quickly and beginning to run across the rooftops. Hayashi grabbed his coat and jumped after her, the others instantly changing into their regular outfits and following him.

"We're going to have to pay for the window later…" Jeanne looked back and shook her head, continuing on.

"I'm not letting you get away!" Hayashi stormed after her, catching up easily.

'He's only supposed to be a Pseudo-Servant, yet he's stronger than most average level ones! Is it simply because of his enormous magical aptitude?!' Serenity panicked.

"Zabaniya!" Another, deeper voice shouted from another nearby rooftop, prompting Hayashi to look in that direction instead.

Suddenly, multiple Hassans were coming at him, burly and skinny, all wearing the same black cloaks.

"Hundred Personas…?!" Hayashi mumbled in surprise, the Hassans beginning to attack him before more piled on, restricting him.

"Get away, Serenity! Go report back to the leader!"

"Y-Yes!"

"Master!" Jeanne called out, the others closing in on the Hassan personas.

"Damn...we can't handle all of them...huh?!"

In a blast of red lightning, the Hassan personas were all sent flying in different directions and dispersed into spirit particles, Hayashi standing with one of the large ones, uninjured.

"I'll...kill...you…!" The last one said, trying to loosen Hayashi's grip, whose arms were wrapped around his neck, choking him out.

"Die." Hayashi cracked his neck, dissolving him as well, then setting his sights on the leader of the group.

"Ugh…!" She grabbed one of her knives, but he was standing back to back with her too fast for her to notice. When she did, she turned around, but he grabbed her neck and began to choke her as well.

"Where's Ramesses?" He asked in a malevolent tone.

"He's...not...here…"

"What…?"

"He's…"

"I heard what you said. I guess I'll just have to ask Serenity next. That's what you called her, right?"

Hundred Personas gasped and tried to retaliate, but Hayashi threw her against a wall with all of his strength, killing her. He then went after Serenity again, who was heading out of the city and towards the pyramids looming in the skyline.

"There." He used reinforcement and sped after her, rushing past her and kicking her away, back through another building.

"Gah…!" She coughed out as Hayashi appeared above her, kicking her onto her back and placing his foot on her chest, electrocuting his body and her in the process, making her scream and sending her back to the Throne.

"Master!" The others called out to him, arriving on the same roof.

"She was heading towards the pyramids. I imagine that's where the other servants are waiting for us. It should have been obvious, actually." he sweatdropped. They started to head towards them as fast as they could, easier now in the modern age since the city stretched almost to the pyramids now, and it was simple to tell how far they needed to go. Since Cairo was also only a quarter the size of London, where they were used to, it felt much quicker getting there.

Arriving there shortly before sunrise, they came across five servants standing at the base of the Great Pyramid.

The first one was clearly from Egypt, her long hair purple with yellow stripes, wearing a pharaoh's golden neck armor that just covered her large breasts, and a skimpy black cloth and transparent skirt that covered her lower half. She had large gold hoop earrings, a gold staff with a bird's head handle, and a headband with rabbit ears that matched her hair.

The second one was a male with long red hair, white armor and white pants, a black and red cloak, white, black and gold gauntlets, and a red, black and gold sword.

The third had long blue hair, a white dress with gold jewels adorning it, and lots of makeup on, as well as lounging on a large snake.

The fourth had long light green hair and wore a simple white robe with a thin gold and white sash over their shoulder.

The fifth and final one wore all black armor with some purple trim, as well as a black cloak draped over them, hiding their face, and with shadows coming out of their feet. He was at least a foot taller than the rest of them though.

"Your names? Then tell me where Rider is." Hayashi growled.

"Pharaoh Ozymandias is occupied at the moment, doing something more important than dealing with you." the Egyptian servant talked back to him. "I'm a Caster, Nitocris."

"Saber. You can call me Rama."

"Assassin, Cleopatra."

"Oh, we killed your soulmate a few months back."

"How dare you-!" She glared at him.

"Calm down. I'm Lancer, my name is Enkidu."

"I gave up my name long ago. You may know me as Hassan-i-Sabbah, the First Hassan, or the King of Hassans. I am an Assassin."

"Hm. Enkidu, huh? Are you aware of what happened to Gilgamesh 13 years ago?"

"Gil? Nothing more than he hasn't been on the Throne for a long time. 13 years, huh? What happened?"

"He was summoned as the Archer in the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki. He won, and thanks to Angra's power, he was granted a physical body that allowed him to live in modern times for 10 more years, separate from the contract he had formed with his Master. 3 years ago, his former master was killed during the fifth war, and he was absorbed as the new core of the Grail, giving Angra a massive power up."

"I see."

"Master, why tell them this?" Nobu asked.

"Because they're not going to remember it once we're through with them."

"You are quite the cocky one, aren't you?" Rama unsheathed his sword and rushed at him, as Nitocris prepared her staff for magic.

She tapped it on the ground, creating a portal in which small creatures with white sheets and motionless eyes. They started to circle around Musashi.

"Get them, my Medjeds!"

Musashi unsheathed her swords and placed the tips on the ground, spinning around and creating a whirlwind that sent the Medjeds flying.

Rama ran up to Nero and clashed swords with her, the two pretty evenly matched.

"Hm...not bad." He backflipped away from her and conjured multiple weapons made out of lightning and sent them towards her.

Altera stepped forward and created a force field with her shield, protecting them from the weapons.

"Let's see if you can stop this. Photon Ray!" Altera dashed at Rama, who avoided it, stepping to the side and charging his weapon with lightning once again. Going at her, he sliced her and shocked her a bit, allowing for her to grab the sword, surprising him.

She slashed upwards, dealing a large amount of damage to Rama, knocking him onto the ground.

Going for a kill shot, he somersaulted out of the way, though wounded, and stood across from them again.

"Should I use it already?" He mumbled to himself.

"Here, I'll help out!" Nitocris tapped her staff on the ground a few times, causing black portals to appear at their feet and mummies began to come out, reaching to grab their legs.

"Gyaaa!" Nero and Jeanne screamed, stabbing them with their weapons while the others dealt with them more diligently, Hayashi looking over at her after stomping his back into the ground.

"I thought that Egyptians didn't like disturbing the dead?"

"They are not real mummies, they are my familiars!" She pouted.

"Any other tricks you have in store for us? If not, I'm going to take you down right now!" He began to go after her.

She summoned some golden scarabs engulfed in blue fire that she sent towards him, making him have to dodge to get to her, but eventually standing in front, startling her.

"Not quite!" Rama dashed over to them and slashed him away, protecting her.

"Thank you…" she sighed.

"Of course. If the others are not going to interfere yet, then we should probably use our Noble Phantasms soon."

"Then I'll use mine now. Save yours for when the right time comes."

"Understood." Rama summoned a giant blunt weapon made of lightning and jumped into the air, slamming it towards the grounds where the others were standing.

All jumping away from his hit, he summoned the other weapons in his arsenal to chase after them.

"Vishnu Bhuja!"

Nobu summoned multiple rifles, attempting to shoot the weapons away, but the bullets went right through them, as they were not physical attacks.

"Damn!"

"Do you have any runes on you?!" Hayashi called out to Scathach.

"Yes, leave it to me! Freeze!" She summoned one of her primordial runes and imbued it with magic power, making it light up light blue and spin around, releasing a freezing cold blast that froze all of the weapons before shattering them, allowing the team to land without consequences.

'I can simply summon them again. But they don't need to know that.' Rama thought, looking at the rune that she used before turning his attention back to Nitocris.

"Use it."

She nodded at him, and turned back to the others, holding her staff sideways.

"Mirror of corpses. Mirror of darkness. Become a door, for fear is here...Anpu Neb Ta Djeser!" The area became surrounded in moving darkness, and a dark red magic circle manifested under Nitocris. Behind her, a large blue portal appeared, and floating from it out behind her was a large black and gold statue of Anubis that looked strangely lifelike. From its head, several rainbow objects that looked like huge flower petals formed into a semicircle, and above its head, a smaller gold portal appeared, and from there, multiple long blue hideous ghosts appeared and flew towards Hayashi's team.

"I'm starting to think we should just use Gate of Skye." Hayashi sighed, thinking of what to do.

"For the time being, I'll do this. Luminosite Eternelle!" Jeanne stepped forward and created a barrier that the ghosts could not cross, but they continued to circle around them.

"Master, since Jeanne has protected us, I might use my Noble Phantasm now to stop them." Scathach looked at him for approval.

"Do that, then."

"Very well. Gate of Skye!" She summoned the gates and opened them, a giant whirlwind sucking the ghosts in, and trying to pull Nitocris along with them.

"I'll make you stop. Witness my power! The Immortal Blade that even the Rakshasa King succumbs to, take form!" He pointed his blade up to the sky and supercharged it with lightning, making it float into the air and begin to spin around violently, faster and faster, before changing form and becoming a huge disc of energy, lightning sparking from it and raining down from the few clouds in the sky.

"Take this! Brahmastra!" His hand motioned to Jeanne's barrier, causing the disc to fly at it and break it apart, acting like a chainsaw. Her barrier was shattered, and they started to be picked up to go into the Gate.

Scathach immediately closed it and sent it away, bringing them back to square one.

"We can't let them use those again."

"In that case, I will take care of the Saber." Altera stepped forward, preparing her sword for her first Noble Phantasm.

"Photon Ray!" She dashed straight at him like a drill, and though he held his sword out and blocked it, she continued pressuring him, flying back against a cliff and piercing through him, finally sending him back to the Throne.

"Allow me to do the next attack." Musashi focused her gaze on Nitocris and summoned her oni, preparing her own Noble Phantasm.

"Nioh Kurikara, Shotenshou!" The oni's four blades attacked her in succession, defeating any spells that she tried to defend herself with.

"Let's go, Master's blade draw! Ishana Daitenshou!" She unsheathed her own sword, a pillar of purple light shooting up from the blade, then unleashing it at Nitocris, who was engulfed by it and sent back to the Throne.

"You two are next?" Hayashi looked over at Cleopatra and Enkidu, who were walking over to them. Some of his servants were already a bit tired from the first fight. Ancient World servants were way different than the others they had fought so far.

 **X**

"Nitocris and Rama have both been added to the pool." Solomon took notice as their spirit particles went into the already filled to bursting pool of blue energy. So much magic power had been gathered from their enormous operation. The power of the strongest heroes in history, and ironically, they needed every one of the servants they summoned to be defeated, except for the five of them, the strongest available of a shared goal.

"Angra. If we want to time this right so that we can perform the ritual for all of us, then we should get started now."

"Yes, I understand. I shall go first then, since I am the one who requires the most additional energy."

"Very well. Step inside the circle, in the center." Around the magic pool was a large and intricate ritual circle, with the pool being the center of it. Solomon created a floor panel over the magic, allowing someone to stand on it, even though it still danced upwards into the sky.

The others gathered around as Angra stepped into the center of the circle, looking at the particles of magic swirling around him, lighting up slightly by his presence, as if wanting to interact with him.

"What do I do now?" he asked seriously.

"Not a thing. Just leave it to me." Solomon controlled the magic so that it began to be absorbed by Angra, surprising him but then making him grin as he felt his power skyrocket, reaching similar levels to those of average servants, then stronger ones, then the same level as a Top Servant, before his body disappeared in a flash of light.

"What just happened?!" Edmond asked angrily. "Did it not work?!"

"No, it worked. Calm down. The ritual is still active. This is simply the next part of it. The test of if he's worthy or not."

Angra now found himself in a strange space, an infinite space of nothing but black and blue with some shrouds of mist around the area.

"Welcome, Servant, to the inside of the Holy Grail. Follow the path to continue your trial." A seemingly omnipotent voice called out to him. As he looked to where it came from, numerous different people, all dressed in regal robes from various different eras, were lined up on two sides, making a path for him to walk through. He began doing so, looking at the people curiously. They were chanting a prayer of sorts, and took notice of him, but did not break concentration.

" _The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the Four Corners of the World. Praise be to thee, o' great one, he who is kind, intelligent, and fair."_

Was what they seemed to be saying over and over again in a sort of Gregorian chant.

Angra looked at some of the people as he walked by. They must all be kings of Persia in some way, shape or form. As he continued walking, he noticed that the scenery began to change. The black and blue space around them transformed into an ancient Persian paradise, seemingly a royal garden complete with temples and, in front of him, a massive lavish palace, which his path led him to.

As he neared the steps, he took note of the monarchs again, now much more recognizable than the previous: Semiramis, the mythical Queen of Assyria, and at the steps of the palace, the final two, Darius I the Great, and Xerxes I the Great.

"Up the steps. He awaits you." Xerxes nodded at him. Angra began walking up and looked back at all of the others, who had stopped chanting and were now disappearing until none remained. He continued going up the steps, reaching the top, and heading inside, where the throne room was.

An elaborate room with colorful columns everywhere and a gorgeous view of the ancient city from all sides, at the back was a few small steps leading up to a golden throne ordained with precious jewels, gleaming as bright as the sun. Sitting in the throne was the king of this vast land, wearing ancient persian regal armor with a sapphire sash tied over one of his shoulders. He had a shortsword sheathed at his side and a large lance in a leather holder on his back. He had wavy dark brown hair and was reasonably tall and well composed. Standing up, he addressed him.

"Avenger, Angra Mainyu. How interesting." Angra instantly recognized this man as the one who had called out to him. He spoke with both authority and care in his voice.

"To consider an extra class for a Grand Servant...it has never been done before. And you, no less, one of the weaker servants on the Throne."

"We used an artificial method."

"Ah, I see. Fascinating. I take it that's why you are so much stronger than usual."

"Yes. It took me months to reach this point, and years longer to develop my plan to pan out like this."

"Hm. Well, congratulations. Now then, are you aware of how becoming a Grand Servant works?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Would you mind explaining to me?"

"Of course. When a Heroic Spirit is sent to the Throne and created as a Servant, they are placed into a class. As I'm sure you already know, the title of Grand Servant is bestowed to the strongest Servant within their class of the main 7 classes. As of right now, the Grand Servant candidates are Altera, Karna, Arjuna, Ozymandias, Solomon, King Hassan, and Hijikata Toshizou. If a Grand Servant relinquishes their position, or something unexpected happens to them, the title is passed on to the next strongest in the class, such is the case with Archer now, as Gilgamesh is still the Grail's core, and therefore Arjuna, as the next strongest Archer, is given the possibility of being summoned as Grand instead. Within a class, a Top Servant is allowed to compete for the title whenever they wish, and is transported into a representation of their culture's lasting impact and influence on the world. They will face the most influential and powerful leader in their land of origin's history. So, for example, if Achilles, a top Rider, wanted to challenge the Grail for the title of Grand, he would be transported to Athens and need to battle against Pericles to win, since Alexander the Great is a much more commonly summoned Servant. This is the same for if you have found a loophole in the system and are trying to acquire the title outside of the Throne, such as what you are doing now."

"So then I have to fight you to win."

"Yes. Should you defeat me, you will be taken back to your world as a newly promoted Grand Servant, much stronger than any mere Top Servant."

"I see. Then let us get right to it, Ancient King of Persia."

"I am Ruler class, Cyrus II, Great King and founder of the Persian Empire. Let's begin your trial!" He took his spear out and the two rushed at each other.

 **X**

Cleopatra and Kato were exchanging blows, as physical combatants, while Enkidu was using their chains to fight the others and keep them at bay.

As Divine Constructs, you cannot break through these unless you have some form of Divinity." Enkidu restrained most of them, though Altera and Scathach could break through and set their sights on Enkidu.

"Gae Bolg Alternative!"

"Photon Ray!" The two dashed at him/her, trying to pierce through his/her skin, but they dodged out of the way and shot lightning from their fingertips, creating more chains that they avoided.

"Mechanical Illusionary Art- Bull Swallowing!" Kato used her first Noble Phantasm, creating a whirlwind that tried to destroy Cleopatra, but she countered with her own Noble Phantasm.

"This is the snake of time, the omen of Egypt's downfall. I command you as the final pharaoh. Uraeus Astrape!" Her serpent lit up blue and gold then became engulfed in flames, flying around the area in an attempt to destroy everything. Kato was forced to stop her Noble Phantasm, and the others had to avoid all of its attacks as it soared around.

"Florence!" Hayashi called out.

"Yes, of course! Nightingale Pledge!" Her giant nurse representation appeared, and with a swing of her sword, the serpent ceased to exist.

"What?! No!" Cleopatra cried out.

"I'm afraid so. Black Arts Decapitation Method- Moonflower." Kato sped past her with her assassination Noble Phantasm, slicing through her and sending her back to the Throne, then assisting the others with Enkidu.

"The evocation is the breath of the planet. I will walk together with the humans. Enuma Elish!" Enkidu's body began to glow golden as lightning rained around him/her, then shot up into the air as a chain of light, along with numerous other chains, preparing to rain down on them.

"Gate of Skye!" Scathach used her Noble Phantasm to absorb all of the attacks and kill Enkidu at the same time, sending them to the pool as well.

 **X**

"Cleopatra and Enkidu have been defeated and added to the pool." Solomon noted as he watched the particles fly in and go into the pool.

"So...the last Pharaoh falls. It appears I am the only egyptian Servant left." Ozy stared at her particles intently.

Just then, a blue portal opened up from within the circle, and Angra walked out slowly, in a new form. His markings were no longer dark red, now a vibrant turquoise, the same as his hair, now without a bandana tied around it. His red waistcloth was now worn out black, and his foot and hand wraps were the same.

"You are...as strong as I am now…" Ozymandias looked at him in awe.

"Yes. I did it after all. Since I began so weak, I'm afraid that even as a Grand Servant, I can only be as strong as a Top Servant. You will all still be much more powerful than I when you complete your own trials."

"Trials? What do we have to do?" Hijikata asked.

"That is not for me to say. That is their responsibility."

"'Their?'"

"Once you undergo the ritual, you'll understand. As it turns out, you are going next."

"...Hmph." Hijikata stepped into the circle's center, and Solomon prepared the ritual again, making Hijikata absorb the magic. His power quickly exceeded Angra's, and he too, disappeared, undergoing his own trial.

When he reappeared, he was in a similar place to Angra, within the grail.

"Follow the path to complete your trial, Berserker." A voice called out to him. In front of him, all of the former rulers of Japan lined up, providing a path for him. As he walked through the line, he took notice of the chant that they were all reciting in unison.

" _Before him came Old Japan. After him came New Japan. Warrior, Politician, Revolutionary, The Last Divine Emperor."_

As Hijikata continued on, the leaders became more and more recognizable and significant to the country's history, passing by leaders such as Empress Genmei and Prince Shotoku. The location also changed, taking him to the Kiyomizu Dera temple in Kyoto, with the past leaders leading him up the path to the top of the temple.

Coming up to the end, where the stairs to the top of the temple were, he looked to his sides, seeing the legendary Emperor Jimmu and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"He awaits you. Good luck, samurai." Jimmu spoke to him. Hijikata focused his gaze back on the temple and walked up the stairs, the previous leaders all disappearing.

As he arrived at the top, he opened the doors to see a man shorter than himself, knelt down in front of his personal rapier, with regal decorations. He wore a western military general's outfit from the 1800s, with various badges and sashes on it, had thin facial hair, short black hair, and was quite handsome, but stern.

"It must not be coincidental that you are the second one challenging for the title today. I assume you will not be the last either. You are...Berserker, Hijikata Toshizou. You already have the title."

"I wasn't summoned in a Grand form. I need to go through the transformation method instead."

"I see." He stood up and sheathed his rapier into his belt. "I suppose we are destined to fight each other even in the afterlife?" He locked eyes with him.

"I only lost because I had to fight so many opponents. This time it's one-on-one. And as an Emperor, there's no possible way that you are as strong as your army's combined strength."

"Heh. You are not the only one trained as a samurai. In our time, it was practically a requirement. And now, as a Servant, I have many more abilities that I didn't hold in life. I can still take you comfortably. But let's see what you have for old time's sake, shall we?" He unsheathed his rapier and held it in front of him, while Hijikata took out his own katana, and squared off against him, already feeling his rage flare up from within his heart.

"I am Ruler class, Meiji the Great, the Emperor who revolutionized Japan. I shall be your opponent for this trial. Let's begin!" The two rushed at each other, clanging blades.

 **X**

"Are you all holding up alright?" Hayashi asked his servants, panting.

"Yes." They responded, though also slightly fatigued.

"It appears that I am next." King Hassan teleported near them.

"I think the word you're looking for is last. You are it, right?"

"No, I am afraid that you are mistaken. While I do work for Pharaoh Ramesses, I serve his two generals under him first."

"Two generals? Where are they? Who are they?"

"They are mentally preparing themselves in the pyramids behind us. They will emerge when the time is right."

"Tell them to come out now!" Altera slashed her sword against King Hassan's armor, but it bounced off, startling her.

"Your weapon is supposed to be a Divine Construct, and that's the best you could do?" he mocked, summoning his own sword, a simple large black blade with a spiked hilt, and slashed upwards, sending her flying back.

Throwing his cloak off of himself, he now stood in plain view with his jet black armor, and summoned a shield as well.

"Try everything you can against him." Hayashi ordered.

"Very well! Fax Caelestis!" Nero ignited her sword and dashed at him, but her attack didn't make a dent in his armor or faze him in the slightest.

"Mechanical Illusory Art- Bull Swallowing!" Kato went next, but he teleported near them in a pillar of blue flames and slashed outwards, creating a shockwave that blew all of them away, preventing her from using her Noble Phantasm.

Hayashi activated his powers and ran up to him, jumping up and kicking his head, but King Hassan didn't flinch, grabbed his leg, and slammed him into the ground.

"Fine then...let's see how you handle this! Teardrop Photon Ray!" Altera's second Noble Phantasm dropped a beam of energy on Assassin, and this time, he was damaged, with part of his armor missing, just a skeleton underneath.

"Listen. The evening bell has tolled thy name." He said angrily. "The feathers foreshadow your death, and behead- Azrael!" He walked towards her, disappearing into nothingness as he did, before reappearing in front of her and slashing once, placing his sword into the ground. Though she was heavily damaged, she did not die.

"Hm. The full effect did not work this time. A shame." He looked at her as she tried to regain her strength. Scathach attacked him and made some distance between them, so Florence could run up and heal Altera.

"I'll take him down now. Scathach, get away!" She called out. The Lancer listened and jumped away as King Hassan tried to slash her.

"As a promise to my Master. Dance through the night sky and annihilate any trace left of my enemy. I am the one who commands you, and you are the one who obeys! Star Photon Ray!" She swung her sword in a circle, and several enormous orbs of light of different colors appeared and flew at King Hassan, creating a massive rainbow explosion on impact, decimating him and sending him back to the Throne.

"At last...Master, I will be out of Magic Power soon...we must finish this…" Altera breathed, going over to him and collapsing into his arms.

"I know…"

 **X**

"Even King Hassan was defeated. They are better than we give them credit for." Solomon watched his magic enter the pool and increase it significantly.

"Where was that strength when they were fighting me?" Hijikata asked as he walked out of the portal, finishing his trial. He now wore an open black hakama and black coat over it.

"I believe they are motivated to fight me. They have helped us a great deal after all, and are nearing the end now." Ozy chuckled.

"Edmond. In you go." Solomon told him. He nodded and stood in the center, more magic power being poured into him as his body disappeared in a flash of light, and he too was inside the grail.

"Follow them to take part in your trial, challenger." A confident voice spoke out to him. Looking out to the front, all of the past rulers of France lined up, forming a path for him. He began to walk past them, realizing that the early ones were minor and lesser known monarchs. They were all reciting a chant.

" _King of the Sun, the only king of France worthy of the name."_

As he went on, they became more recognizable, and the area changed, bringing him to the main streets of Versailles, heading towards the Palace of Versailles. Nearing the entrance, the kings became much more notable to him. Louis XVI, Henry IV, Hugh Capet, Louis IX, and at the end, Napoleon Bonaparte and Charlemagne.

"It's good to see you again." The Emperors spoke to him.

"So this is your job now? Royal guides?" he mocked.

"We have no choice in this matter. All servants are the same in their country of origin when a trial is started. Since you are French, we must guide you to your challenge, as past rulers of our home."

"Heh. Even the mighty Napoleon and Charlemagne are not important enough to be my opponent? I think I already know who it is though. It's not hard to figure out. There was only one king more powerful and influential than the two of you. Wish me luck." He waved, heading into the palace.

"Maybe...I should have asked how to get to the Throne Room." he sighed, finding his way through the palace.

"No, the other way. Yes, now take a left. Go right. There. Straight." The voice spoke to him, exasperated.

Arriving at the throne room, the man awaiting him was handsome, of average height, with long, curly black hair, wearing fancy black armor, a blue sash over his shoulder, and a fancy blue, gold, and white cape attached, going down to his legs. In his hand was a golden scepter adorned with precious rubies, and at his hip was a familiar precious national treasure, made of pure gold, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other gems and metals.

"The Holy Sword Joyeuse...heh…" Edmond took note of it.

"You are familiar with it after all. Yes, other than Charlemagne, I am the only other Servant permitted to use it. How interesting that a fictional character is taking this challenge, and an Avenger no less. Though you are still French at your core, aren't you?"

"Not as much as you might think. If you knew of my past, then you would know that both Marseille and Paris wronged me in many ways. I lost my French identity after that. At this point, I really don't need to be from anywhere, save for my novel." He summoned his own copy from black flames to show him.

"You wouldn't sympathize with me though, you are a king before my time and thus don't care about how your country turned out after your rule, do you?"

"I'm insulted. Any king of their nation wants to know how their country fared after their passing. And as a patron of the arts, I assure you I would have read your novel had it been published while I was alive."

"Oh, I see. And I take it that you pride yourself on being the representative servant of France in the Grand Class trial, and to be remembered as the most powerful and famous king in both French and European history?"

"Buttering me up, are you? Though flattery can work sometimes." he smirked.

"Why don't we get right down to it? Hopefully you'll be more of a challenge for me than Hayashi's team was. It should be an honor to fight against one such as you" he channeled lightning on his palms.

"I assure you, I will be, even if you have the class advantage." He unsheathed Joyeuse, the light gleaming from it, as he pointed it as him.

"Though you are already aware of my identity, I am obligated by the Holy Grail to state it to officially start the trial. So, Ruler, Sun King Louis XIV The Great, will be in charge of your examination! Let us begin!"

 **X**

"If those two generals he talked about aren't really coming out, then we should get out of here and try to find the Inner Circle as quickly as we can." Hayashi stood up, the others slowly getting up along with him.

"They're not in the city." Jeanne said. "They were in the palace yesterday, but none of them are here now."

"Try to sense where they are."

"That won't be necessary." A voice called out to them. When they turned around, a figure stood at the entrance to the Great Pyramid, firing an arrow from their bow towards them. They all jumped away, and the arrow exploded, sending sand everywhere.

"Perfect." Arjuna created another arrow and added Clairvoyance to it, turning it into a homing arrow. He fired it once again, the arrow having a ferocity equivalent to a missile. Going through the sand, it pierced through Scathach, going through her shoulder and making her cry out, falling over.

"Scathach!" Hayashi called out.

"As a Lancer, she's the most troublesome for me." He readied another arrow and fired it, hitting Kato this time, just as the dust settled.

"And now I don't have to deal with that decapitation Noble Phantasm." He looked at them, stepping down from the pyramid.

"I take it you are one of the two servants who works on behalf of Ozymandias?" Hayashi called out.

"Indeed. I am Arjuna, an Archer."

"A mythological Indian Prince...that isn't good…" Hayashi mumbled.

"Agni Gandiva!" Arjuna's bow transformed into a larger version, made completely out of gold. Lightning sparked at his feet while flames surrounded his bow and arrows he summoned.

"Next should be you, the strongest Saber." He created a handful of arrows out of energy, and fired them upwards in an arc, all falling towards Altera. Nobu quickly summoned rifles and shot at them, but her bullets were disintegrated.

"You really think that modern weapons can destroy the divine arrows of Agni?"

Musashi jumped up and took the attacks, falling to the ground, the same as the others.

"Damn it…wait...divine arrows…?" Nobu thought.

She began to run towards Arjuna, preparing to use her reality marble to wipe them out.

"You are planning to defeat me based upon my divinity, no?" he asked, startling her. He used that split second of hesitation to fire an arrow straight into her, sending her flying back and stopping her from using it.

"I am aware of all of your abilities. Solomon told me all about everything you can do. Now, let me think… only two of you have divinity, and it's not very high. And the ones who don't are either anti-heroes or too pure. So then I will simply have to use my Noble Phantasm as a giant explosion.

"What?!" Hayashi yelled.

"Don't die. Holy ground expansion, Space Fixation, Divine Punishment Enforcement Period Establishment...all clear. By Shiva's wrath, your life ends here...Pashupata!"

Gathering a large amount of blue energy into his hand, it stabilized and became a small blue orb. He tossed it into the sky, and it disappeared, but in a few seconds, a giant blast of blue energy appeared, and expanded outward, a large explosion engulfing them.

When it faded away, Altera stood, burned, in front of the remaining members, Nero, Jeanne, Nightingale and Hayashi.

"What did you do?" Arjuna asked, slightly surprised as the others looked on in horror.

"I...went to the core...and absorbed it all...onto myself...with Divinity...it turned its focus onto me…" she choked out before collapsing.

"Master, we must do something!" Nero and Jeanne looked at him for orders.

"Verg-!"

"Brahmastra!" A piercing beam of red light went through Hayashi's heart, coming from behind him. Falling over, Karna stood nearby, looking down at him.

"Apologies…I cannot allow you to kill us just yet."

 **X**

Edmond's portal reopened, and he stepped out, now wearing purple suit pants and black boots, a Napoleonic purple suit with a white cravat and pink gem pinned onto it, a purple overcoat matching the suit with purple cuffs and gold trim on the shoulders with a few amethysts attached, white gloves, and his hair was now longer and tied into a long flowing ponytail held together by a purple ribbon.

"Heh...all of the power I had in life has returned to me. He wasn't kidding though, I really had to fight to get it. Damn you, Sun King…" he chuckled.

"Solomon, you go next." Ozy looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. As the strongest amongst us normally, and the one requiring the least amount of magic power, I should go last."

"Understood." Solomon walked into the circle, and absorbed the magic power, his body disappearing, and being sent inside the grail for his own trial.

"Welcome, Israeli king. Please follow the path we have laid out for you." A calm voice called to him.

He began to walk forward, finding many different leaders and monarchs of Israel lined up, many of them from after his time. However, once he got further, the area changed and brought them to Jerusalem, on a path leading to King Herod's former palace. Like before, they all recited a chant.

" _He who leads us back home, back to the Holy Land. He who saves us from exile, he who connects with God, he who teaches us, he who stands up for us, he who is the greatest prophet, he who will be forever eternal to the people of Israel."_

The faces he passed became more recognizable to him as well. He saw King Herod, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Noah, and even Jesus of Nazareth. As he got to the steps of the temple, Kings Saul and David greeted him.

"Father…"

"Hello again, Solomon. You are here to undergo the trial of becoming Grand Caster?"

"Yes."

"Then he is awaiting you." Saul spoke this time.

"Good luck." The two kings nodded at him as they and the rest of the previous figures disappeared. Stepping inside of the palace, he saw a young man of average height awaiting him, standing in front of the throne. He had short gray hair and wore black sandals, black pants, a gray vest, white sash, red cloak, and carried a staff.

"Welcome, wise king of Israel."

"So I must fight my country's greatest leader to complete the trial?"

"Yes. You are a sharp one."

"Three of my friends have already done the same."

"And it is truly remarkable for you since you are the one who thought of and created this method around the usual way."

"It was a necessary step in our plans. Now, why don't we get started, great ancestor? We don't have that much time left to go through this, I'm afraid."

"Understood. I am Caster, Moses. I will be in charge of your trial. Let us begin!"

 **X**

"Master! Master, please get up!" Jeanne cried. His wound healed slowly, and life came back into his face.

"Ugh...damn it…another one…" He sat up, getting a better look at the two of them.

Arjuna was a dark skinned young man, wearing white shoes, white pants, three black belts holding two metal quivers, a purple tank top, a white cloak with an intricate pattern sewn into the bottom, and a white and blue cape attached to a shoulder clasp, with two silver chains hanging from the clasps.

Karna wore golden spiked armor, with two floating circular attachments on his shoulders and a pink cloak as part of them. He wielded a golden lance resembling a sun, with more of the pink cloak's material attached to the end of it.

"My name is Karna. I am a Lancer. Apologies for using my Brahmastra like that. But as I said, we still have responsibilities to handle."

"Nero...I hate to ask this, but since both Altera and Musashi are out, you're going to have to take him.

"I'll do my best…" She upgraded her sword to its silver form and walked forward, facing off against Karna.

"Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theatre rises from within the sea-Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the Illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theatre! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!"

Her strongest Noble Phantasm transported Karna to the sea, and she fired all of her organ cannons from atop her theatre, heading towards him.

"Kavacha. Kundala." His circular attachments moved to his front and opened, protecting him from the onslaught without so much as a scratch.

"No way…" Nero gasped.

"My armor prevents almost any damage to me. Now for your theatre. Brahmastra Kundala!" His lance became engulfed in flames, and he launched at it at her, blowing up her theatre instantly and setting fire to the sea, breaking her Reality Marble.

Once again in Egypt, Nero lay defeated in the sand, leaving just three left.

'I know of nothing else that could work...forgive me, Master…' Jeanne looked at him with tears in her eyes, hesitantly reaching for her sword.

Hayashi noticed and grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"I won't let you do it."

"But Master!"

"NO! We'll make it out of here. Just trust me."

"...Okay...I trust you…"

"Master...why won't you let me heal them?" Nightingale asked.

"They'll get you too if you try anything. We just have to stay still."

Arjuna and Karna walked towards them before stopping and looking up above them. Floating above, now casting a shadow, was Mesektet.

"It appears our time has run out." Arjuna closed his eyes, and both of them became engulfed by light shot down from Mesektet, both being incinerated and sent back to the Throne. The ship then disappeared.

"...That was Rider's ship…" Jeanne mumbled.

"I don't think he was helping us...I have a bad feeling…"

 **X**

"There. There's more than enough for you now." Solomon channeled the brothers' magic power into the ritual, preparing it for Ozymandias. Solomon completed his trial rather quickly, already the most powerful Caster within his class by a wide margin, even with how many powerful spells Moses could cast. He decided not to tell the Pharaoh about his fight with his former brother. His outfit hadn't changed due to him already being the Grand Caster candidate.

"You need to do this as quickly as possible. With Arjuna and Karna now defeated, there's nothing to distract Hayashi's team from sensing our new Magic Power, even from the other side of the country." 

"I understand. Though they hold no advantage over us anymore." He walked into the center of the circle, Solomon channeling the energy into him, his body disappearing into the Grail.

He appeared at the usual space, this time all of the Pharaohs of Egypt lined up.

"Follow them, King of Kings." A powerful voice called out to him. He scoffed and walked through, looking at all of the previous kings as he walked by.

" _Warrior King, Undefeated Military Genius, drive our enemies away and bring our power to new heights."_

The chant caught Ozy's attention and he smiled to himself, already aware of who he was about to face. The scene changed to Thebes in Ancient Egypt, the path leading to the main palace in the city. As he neared closer, he saw more famous Pharaohs, including Nitocris, Cleopatra, Akhenaten, and at the front, Tutankhamun and Amenhotep III, who addressed him as he reached the stairs.

"King of Kings, the last great Pharaoh of Egypt. Welcome."

"Amenhotep The Magnificent. He is awaiting me, yes?"

"You already know then."

"Of course. There is no one else it could be. I owe all of my success to him."

"I see. We wish you luck then." They all bowed to him and disappeared, as he continued walking up the steps, arriving in the throne room.

Sitting in the throne was a buff man of dark skin, around the same height as himself, wearing adorned golden armor and the pharaoh's headdress, blue and gold. Next to him was a fancy jeweled spear and a shield.

"How interesting this predicament is."

"What do you mean?"

"You are normally supposed to be in charge of the trials for Egyptian servants. But you have already been summoned. And taking the challenge yourself, the Grail made me stand in for you, though I'm sure it won't take much effort for you to win."

"Don't sell yourself short. I owe everything to you, the great empire builder. You were the model Pharaoh to look up to in my time."

"You made more of an impact though. 67 years, you reigned. People thought the world would end when you died. Ironic that you are the most powerful Pharaoh in history, and yet not even of royal birth."

"Oh, so you know my family's secret. With Akhenaten's unsuccessful reign and Tutankhamun's deformities and early death, the royal line officially ended. And so my grandfather, the founder of the 19th Dynasty, was chosen since his father was a general in Tutankhamun's Royal Army. But the people must believe that their Pharaoh is invincible so that they feel protected under him. Which is why we hid the secret of our ascension and why I bragged about winning Kadesh that first time, even though we nearly lost. I am no commander compared to you."

"Perhaps not. But you are stronger by yourself now thanks to the Grail."

"Yes. But I would still like to measure up against you. Let's find out who really deserves the titles of King of Kings and King of Construction."

"Very well." He stood up and picked up his weapons, facing off against his successor.

"I am Lancer, Thutmose III, Warrior King and Empire Builder of Egypt. I will be your opponent for this trial. Let's begin!"

 **X**

Florence finished healing all of the others, bringing everyone back to full health.

"What happened?" Scathach asked.

"We were besieged by Arjuna and Karna, the princes of the Mahabharata. But Rider's ship showed up and defeated them." Hayashi explained.

"The only reason they would do that is so that there would be more magic in the pool. Which means that they're about to undergo the ritual. We must hurry and stop them. Jeanne, can you sense where they are?"

"...It's clouded, but I can feel some faint magic power coming from the far south."

"The far south…? Thebes and the Valley of the Kings is down there, but that doesn't make any sense to perform it there." Hayashi pondered. "Where was your base before he took over the city?"

"Queen Nefertari's tomb."

"He must be there, then. Let's get moving."

"Master, it will take forever to cross the desert." Nero whined.

"Not necessarily. You all go in spirit form, and I'll fly there with wind magic. It shouldn't take us more than an hour."

They nodded, and began to go before Jeanne cried out and they stopped.

"What is it?" Hayashi asked before the air became thick with magic power, making it hard to breathe.

"That...they must have had some sort of barrier up that was making it hard to sense...but I can feel it now, they all have become much, much stronger, far stronger than any of us! They must have become Grand Class already!"

"Damn it! Forget going after them, we should retreat to the city. They wouldn't risk hunting us down where people are around, hopefully." They started to go back to where they came from.

 **X**

The final portal opened, and out of it stepped a foot clad in golden and jeweled armor. As the rest of him came out, he was now adorned in full golden armor with precious jewels, gold and blue cape, a larger and shinier staff, a golden crown with the snake of Egypt upon it holding a ruby in its mouth, and gold and blue makeup around his eyes. His hair was now spiked up, and he no longer had the confident air around him that his gaze used to carry, instead seeming more subdued.

"How do you feel?" Angra asked, smirking.

He dispersed his staff into particles and summoned a large Pharaoh's headdress, blue and gold striped, that he placed upon his head. Glancing over at Angra for a moment then heading towards the exit of the temple, he held his hand out and fired a blast of light from it, the same one that Mesektet uses. Hitting the sand, a huge explosion came forth, shooting a geyser of sand into the sky.

"How nostalgic. My true power has returned to me. It's almost as if I'm about to go after him again. Let's not stand around here any longer. There is a task at hand." The five of them turned to spirit form and headed towards Giza.

 **X**

 ****Hayashi's team couldn't get very far before they already showed up with their newfound speed.

Turning back into their physical forms, they blocked their path back into cairo, standing in their new forms.

"Damn it...they already have us…" Hayashi gritted through his teeth.

"Hello again." Edmond smiled at them.

"You know Hayashi, this is our first time actually meeting in person in three years. How fun." Angra chuckled.

"You've gathered quite the group since we began this little excursion. Three servants to seven, including one of our own former summons." Solomon observed.

"Have you given up yet? Surely you can sense our power?" Hijikata looked at them.

"Not in the slightest. We'll find a way somehow, no matter how long it takes. We can't let you all be in charge of global affairs." He growled.

"Do you not remember what we told you?" Edmond asked, stepping forward. In an instant, his body flashed in place, and all of them were attacked by his lightning, electrocuted and falling to the sand, unable to move due to the sheer power of his new form.

"Think of how much trouble every country has had, with so much happening between war, disease, corruptness, and collapse. Think of how Japan was forced to be open to the world. It is now subservient to the United States, a shadow of its former glory." Hijikata stated.

"The Empire of Japan should not be revived!"

"Of course not. But even so, my country is nothing compared to what it used to be. We need to be independent enough to compete with the world powers again."

"France as well. There have been too many times that France has been on the receiving end. Even after overthrowing the monarchy and establishing the monarchy, I was wrongfully accused of my crimes. Today, there are not enough corrupt people truly prosecuted to the fullest extent that they should be. As a living example, I will be judge, jury, and executioner." Edmond explained his philosophy.

"I am sure you aware of the war between Israel and Palestine? It seemed that the only time that my land was peaceful was when it was a united kingdom, when magic and mystery were commonplace." Solomon looked down at them.

"Egypt has been through many changes and revolutions of its identity, but today is barely what it used to be. I am called the last great pharaoh for a reason. The country has never been as powerful as when I ruled." Ramesses stated, staring at the pyramids.

"This world needs to evolve. Think of what it could be with magic implemented into society again. The ways in which we could progress." Angra stepped forward.

"I can't do it alone, though. Even with all of my strength, I still require your body and powers to carry out my vision." He channeled blue lightning and magic power around himself and turned to spirit form, flying into Hayashi's body.

"N-No-!" He protested before growling and tossing around, trying to fight it.

"Master!" All of his servants cried, but Ramesses stepped forward and summoned his king sphinx, blasting them all away with its antimatter beam, injuring them more and knocking out all but Jeanne, who couldn't move.

"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Hayashi screamed, his body emitting an enormous amount of lightning and energy, before things calmed down. Standing still, he looked over to Jeanne slowly before smiling at her.

"Master-!" She smiled back, though injured.

His smile then turned into a grin as his eyes sparked with blue lightning, walking over to her and standing above her.

"No...Angra Mainyu...what did you do?!" she screamed, beginning to cry.

"Your master and I have fused once again. He is now restrained in my subconscious. The amount of power I gained from him is truly exceptional as well. I am as strong as Edmond now, a true Avenger." He sparked blue lightning from his fingertips.

"Why are they still here if you have eliminated him?" Hijikata asked.

"It is not something that I can change. Hayashi is not gone, he still exists, he just has no control over his own mind and body anymore. As such, his Servants cannot disappear as they are still contracted with him, even if he's not physically here. I cannot sever their contracts myself either, or use his command spells. I am not a Master."

"Can we not just kill them here and now?" He asked as a follow up.

Jeanne gasped.

"We could...but I think that it's much sweeter to let them live and see how the world will be redeemed in our images. To prove them wrong. After all, there is nothing they can do to stop us. No matter how hard they try, regular servants cannot match Grand Servants whatsoever. We are on a different level of power. And hey, maybe they won't even make it that far. Perhaps they'll simply be swallowed up by the desert by nightfall." He kicked her face, making her fall against the sand, fading in and out of consciousness.

"Let's be off. We have a world to conquer." Angra turned around and began walking off with the others, leaving Jeanne's sight as she opened and closed her eyes.

"Hayashi…" she breathed, losing consciousness along with the others.

 **End.**

 **I couldn't use Arjuna and Karna at full power because the world would blow up, in either their regular or supercharged forms.**


	13. Part 4: Tokyo

**Japanese Servant: *Dies***

 **Me: *Plays sad Naruto music***

 **Songs**

 **Jeanne's Dream: Souvenir (Pink Martini)**

 **Grand Servants Takeover: A Knife in the Dark (LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring OST)**

 **Awaking and Remembering: Addicted to a Certain Lifestyle (Sherlock OST)**

 **Hayashi's Journal and Gilgamesh: The Pendulum (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Talking to Gilgamesh: The Day the Sun Disappeared (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Training and Planning: The Trials (Halo 5 OST)**

 **Inside the Abu Simbel Temples: The Awakening (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Nobu and Kato's Sacrifice: Main Theme- Homage to Alchemy (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **The Ritual: Crypt (Halo 5 OST)**

 **Inside the Grail: Covenant Prayers (Halo 5 OST)**

 **Jeanne vs. Louis XIV: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 "Symphony from the New World" Mvmt. IV "Allegro con fuoco" (Antonin Dvorak)**

 **Nero vs. Constantine: Mars, the Bringer of War (Gustav Holst)**

 **Scathach vs. Robert the Bruce: Slave Knight Gael (Dark Souls III OST)**

 **Reemergence in Grand Forms: Light is Green (Halo 5 OST)**

 **Tokyo:** **ぐだぐだ明治維新 ショップテーマ** **(Fate/Grand Order OST)**

 **Scathach vs. Hijikata: Chain Explosion (Naruto the Last Movie OST)**

 **Hijikata's Defeat: Unexpected Unfulfilled People (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 _Jeanne looked around, all of her friends dressed up and enjoying the evening. Her own black dress felt kind of tight on her, so she loosened it a bit. Looking around with a thin smile on her face, her eyes twinkled with joy when she saw Hayashi, dressed up in a black tuxedo and red bow tie._

 _He handed her a drink, and the two clinked glasses, drinking together. After finishing them, he extended his hand to her and she took it, going over to the dance floor, beginning to whirl each other around while looking into each other's eyes._

 _The others went and sat down, watching and smiling at the two. It was nice to finally get away from everything and enjoy some one-on-one time with him._

 _Then the music stopped, and the other servants began to dissolve into dust, making Jeanne stop and gasp._

" _Hayashi…?" She looked back at him, and he was no longer smiling, his own body also disappearing as she heard Angra laugh throughout the room. The tables and drinks were beginning to disappear as well, and before long, the curtains, chandeliers, and space itself were gone, leaving her in Limbo._

" _I'm alone…."_

 **X**

 **Tokyo**

Hijikata walked towards the National Diet Building, officials beginning to flee on sight of him. Security guards began to run at him, but the Berserker slayed them easily, continuing into the building.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" The assemblies turned to face him, in the middle of a meeting.

"Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda." Hijikata called out, the Prime Minister standing up and looking at him.

"Control of the government belongs to me now. I'm sure you remember me from the news a little more than a week ago."

"Hijikata Toshizou. Or at least you claim to be." He countered.

"I assure you I am the real deal. Get in my way and you'll end up like those guards back there. Any decisions you make from now on are to be run by me. Understood?"

"...Yes."

"I'm glad you understand. Let me be clear, I have no plans to run this country the same way that Emperor Komei did. Japan cannot be isolationist in this day and age, but I plan to make us a little more outgoing and independent than we've been. That is all. I will be in the Royal Palace." He walked out, some of the politicians gritting their teeth.

 **Paris**

Edmond walked up to the Palais Bourbon, killing the guards and going into the assembly hall, the National Assembly meeting.

"What are you doing here?! Who are you?!"

"Nikolas Sarkozy. Is he here?"

"Yes, I'm here." The same man answered.

"My name is Edmond Dantes. Your office now belongs to me."

"What did you say? You've already interrupted our meeting, and now you threaten my position? I won't have it! Guards! Remove this man from my sight!"

"Your guards are already dead. I do not wish to do that to you." Black flames channeled around his fist, alarming the president and the members of the National Assembly.

"...What are your demands?"

"Have you ever heard of the Holy Grail?"

"Of course. The holy artifact."

"Are you aware of Heroic Spirits and what they mean, then?"

"Yes. The knowledge has been passed down through the country's government since the days of the Frankish Kingdoms."

"Then you should know that I am in fact the Count of Monte Cristo, even though I'm a fictional character in origin. From now on, you may consider me the head of your government, and any and all decisions you make will be given to me for review before passing. I also require residency of the Elysee Palace that you live in. Is that understood?"

"...Yes."

 **Jerusalem**

Solomon walked to the Knesset, the Israeli government's official building.

"Can we help you?" The guards asked.

"I would like to propose something to the Prime Minister and President regarding the war with Palestine. A solution."

"I'm afraid we can't just let any citizen in like that."

"I am no ordinary citizen. Do you see the way I am dressed?"

"We thought it was just some kind of fair thing. Were we wrong?"

"Yes. My name is Solomon, the former King of Israel. If you desire proof, then here." He snapped his fingers, and the clouds swirled around them, centered around Solomon. The rain began to fall lightly, and Solomon created green shields of magic over their heads so they wouldn't get wet.

"What the-?!"

"I have much more dangerous spells than this, I assure you. Will you let me in now?"

"...Of course. Follow us."

 **Luxor**

"Listen up, citizens of Egypt!" Ramesses stood in the middle of the city, right in front of the Temple of Karnak. They all turned their attention to him, most of whom had already been watching because of his ancient clothing.

"My name is Ramesses, second of my name, son of Seti, the first of his name. I was the second Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt's New Kingdom. If you do not believe me, witness this."

He summoned some of his sphinxes as well as Mesektet, now standing on it. Raising his hand towards the barren desert in the distance, he fired a beam of golden light that exploded, creating a large dome of energy and sending sand flying through the sky. The people gasped or screamed, cowering in fear and not know what to do.

"Worry not. I will not let any harm befall you, or this country. I have dethroned President Mubarak, so to speak, and will be Egypt's Pharaoh once again. Do you not remember the tales of my glory, of how I brought Egypt to the height of its power? I shall do so again. It is time that Egypt enters a new age, and puts all of this political turmoil to rest that has been present since the time of Cleopatra. Do you agree? Will you let me be your God King once again?"

They were hesitant for a moment, but since he had already proven his abilities, the people cheered for him and bowed.

"A wise decision. The government shall continue to run its course and daily duties. But from now on, all major decisions are to be shown to me first. I shall be in the Temple of Karnak should you need me."

 **Tehran**

Angra, now in Hayashi's body, walked towards the Office of the Supreme Leader.

"Hold it right there." The two guards out front took out machine guns and aimed them at him. Without any effort, Angra sliced through both of them by summoning Tawrich and Zarich. He continued forward and inside the building, killing anyone who attempted to stop him.

Eventually, he walked into the Hussainia, the room where the Supreme Leader addresses the public. though the Supreme Leader himself was not in there, a few people who looked like government officials were.

"Who are you? You're not supposed to be here!" They all turned and looked at him.

"Where is your Supreme Leader?"

"We asked you a question! Guards!" They yelled, beginning to move towards him.

"Your guards are dead. Where is your Supreme Leader?" He asked again, cutting them off.

"What?!"

He once again summoned his weapons.

"Take me to him."

"...Very well. Follow us." They arrived in his personal office, where the Supreme Leader looked up at them.

"S-Sayyid...this man wishes to speak with you. He has threatened us and claims he killed the guards as well."

"Go on, get out of here." Angra told them, the officials running out of the room.

"You do not look like a citizen of this country. You're not wearing any islamic clothing whatsoever.

"I do not follow Islam. This is also a body that I'm borrowing. Sayyid Ali Khamenei. You must resign your position to me."

"Outrageous. I will do no such-"

"Are you aware of the Holy Grail? Of Heroic Spirits? Of Magecraft?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Then I suppose the knowledge was lost somewhere along the way in this country's history. How disappointing. I expected more from the country that produced a ruler and servant as powerful as Cyrus." He walked up to Khamenei and placed his hand on the Supreme Leader's forehead, using the Grail's power to transfer all knowledge of Magecraft and Servants into him.

"Y-You...I can't believe it…"

"My name is Angra Mainyu. I am a Zoroastrian, not a Muslim. As I said, I am borrowing this man's body for reasons of my own, but I will reiterate my previous request. Fail to comply, and I will kill you immediately. Relinquish your position as Supreme Leader to me."

 **X**

Jeanne stirred, slowly waking. She found herself on a couch in a large room. Looking around, she noticed that the other servants were laid down in the same room. Sitting up, she noticed that the room was an office. She stood up, heading towards the other end of the room where there was a large and expensive desk, with a view through glass windows. The view was of Cairo. Perplexed, she turned around when she heard the door open.

"Oh, you're awake at last." Lorelei stepped in.

"What are you doing here? What happened?" Jeanne stepped back a bit, remembering how their last confrontation with Lorelei went.

"Calm yourself. I will explain everything when the others wake." It didn't take long before the rest of them awoke as well, and were also startled by Lorelei's presence.

"What has happened? Where is Master?" Altera asked.

"Do you not remember? Your fight by the pyramids? The inner circle ascended to Grand class, and overwhelmed you. Angra took possession of Hayashi's body."

All of them became appalled, their memories of that day slowly returning to them.

Lorelei sat at the desk and sighed heavily.

"It's been a little over a week since that day. The day after you were defeated, the Japanese, French, Israeli, Egyptian, and Iranian governments were ceded to them by orders of the leading bodies or the head of state."

"What?!" They all yelled.

"I'm afraid it's true. There was of course political turmoil between them and foreign countries that didn't trust them. After all, they were brand new and no one had heard of or seen them before. Though they declared their identities and have the support of their citizens, there are still world powers that are uneasy about them, namely the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, and China, among others. However, they are stuck, as...I hate to admit it, but they have done a good job changing their countries for the better so far. They have addressed many ongoing issues. For instance, Solomon has finally put the war between Israel and Palestine on hold by showing the opposing side a demonstration of his powers. They were reluctant to surrender, but they had no choice, as they would have been decimated if they had gone up against him. Hijikata is taking a more active stance in global affairs, but he is silencing the rallying cries of Nationalists at the same time to prevent Japan becoming an empire again. Edmond has made the National Assembly more productive and has begun to introduce new, more progressive reforms. Ramesses has done the same with Egypt and is on the way to making it much more powerful and wealthy as a nation. And Angra has begun to repair relations with some of Iran's enemies, or at least attempt to. Overall, we've lost. Hayashi is once again possessed, and those five have control over world politics at the moment."

"Master...no…" Jeanne sobbed.

"So why are you here? In Cairo?" Nobu asked.

"I arrived at my own volition once I found out about their appointments as the new leaders of their countries. As it turns out, a few people had discovered your bodies near the pyramids. I convinced them that you were part of the association and under my care, and I had some associates from the Cairo branch to bring you here. This is the executive office of the city's branch."

"So there's nothing we can do?" Musashi asked, distressed.

"You saw us out there, we were no match for them. We were no match for them even before they became Grand class!" Scathach pointed out.

"So what is there to do…?" Nero asked quietly. All of them stood in place, thinking about how to counter this threat.

"Settle down. I have a few things in mind." Lorelei stood up, everyone looking at her.

"You're going to have to trust that I have changed since you last saw me. Zelretch believes this situation to be hopeless and wishes to summon his own servant to combat them, but I stopped him from doing so and came here to help you instead. You are still here in this world because Hayashi still exists, and Angra cannot sever his contracts with you."

"Won't that mean that he knows where we are or what we're doing though?" Kato asked.

"No. He and Hayashi are separate entities. They share a body, but they do not share a mind. I'm sure all of them are aware that you're still around, but have chosen to ignore you since you are much weaker than them. As for where to go from here, there were two things left behind by Angra. The first is Hayashi's journal." She took a small book out of her coat pocket and placed it on the desk. Nero stepped forward.

"He's been writing in that every time we have a mission."

"Do you think he'll have accounted for this circumstance? Written something about it?"

"I don't know." Nero reached for it, but when she placed her hand on it, she yelped, being burned by a magic spell.

"It is unfortunately bound by magic. I don't know who can open it, or if he intended for anyone to open it at all. I thought one of you could."

Jeanne stepped forward and tried it, but couldn't do it either, getting slightly burned.

"If you two aren't able to, then I don't know that any of us are…" Nobu crossed her arms.

"We'll have to come back to it later. What's the other thing you were mentioning?" Altera asked.

"Angra has presumably made Hayashi the new core of the Grail. As such, he released the old core."

"And?" Musashi asked.

"Didn't you know? The old core was a servant. I formed a contract with him so he would not disappear and so he would not cause trouble. The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, is currently locked up in our interrogation room."

"What?!" They all yelled.

"We should go and talk to him. Perhaps we could convince him to join us." Jeanne said hurriedly, heading to the door.

"We can try...but from the talks that I've had with him so far, he has not seemed too interested in much of anything. He has definitely changed since the last time he was summoned. In any case, follow me." Lorelei took them into an elevator, then down a spiral staircase to the building's basement, arriving at a series of prison-cell like rooms meant for interrogation. At the end of the hall was a door locked by special security measures. She inserted a key card into the slot, causing the door to slide open, with one last door a little further in at the end of this hall. Walking up, Lorelei dismissed the two guards and unlocked the door, opening it. Sitting inside was Gilgamesh, in his golden armor, but bound by the chains of Enkidu, thanks to a command spell of Lorelei's.

"Archer. I have some people here who wish to speak with you." He looked up slightly, his red eyes looking hollow.

"Other servants? I'm not interested." He said quietly.

"Well you'd better get interested. We need your help." Jeanne sat down across from him, making him focus on her.

"Help? With what?"

"You must be aware of what Angra Mainyu and Ozymandias have done, King of Heroes?"

"Of course. But that is not a good enough reason to warrant me helping you."

"What do you mean?! There is no better reason!"

"Let me rephrase myself. It is a hopeless endeavor, and without a concrete plan of some sort, there is no chance that I will even consider it."

"Hopeless endeavor?! As long as we're here, there's hope! We are the only ones able to stand against them!"

"Jeanne. Calm down." Altera said, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, startling her.

"Lorelei, take everyone back upstairs. I will try to reason with him."

"Very well." Jeanne looked at her in both anger and concern, then reluctantly followed, leaving Altera alone with him.

"Listen to me. We are both kings, and we are both anti-heroes. So don't you see yourself in them? Don't you feel anything about this situation?"

"Of course I do. But the situation is hopeless. They are Grand Class Servants, and as the Grand Archer, I know the difference in power between Top Servants and Grand ones. They are also immortal, and no one is able to stand up against them. They'll rule the world forever, and summon more servants to do the same for other countries. The world is different from now on. Holy Grail Wars might as well be irrelevant."

"...This is your world. Are you not going to take it back, King of Heroes?"

"..."

"Do you know anything? Anything at all that could help us?"

"...They didn't use all of the magic in their ritual."

"What? What do you mean?"

"They had been collecting as much magic power from the defeated servants as possible, right? To ascend? I could tell when Angra released me. There was a small amount left; they must have overestimated the power of some of their servants. If I had to guess, I'd say that they couldn't absorb it because they have already reached the highest echelon of power, and that they couldn't simply erase it because of the nature of the spell. Even now, if you stepped outside, I'm sure that emotional woman companion of yours would be able to tell that the spell is still active, essentially. It is not nearly as much as when it was full. But it could probably turn one or two of you that are Top class into Grand servants. That's all."

"I see. Thank you, Gilgamesh." She got up and began to exit.

"Don't assume that this means I'll help you. I am trusting you with the task of returning my world to the way it was. Just like before, you have no one to blame but yourselves if you lose again."

She nodded silently to him and closed the door again, heading back upstairs to the others.

"Well? How did it go?" Lorelei asked.

"I could not convince him to assist us. But I did convince him to cooperate with us."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nobu asked.

"He does not want to fight. He believes that because of our failure to stop them before all of this, that it is hopeless to stand against a Grand servant as we are. He said that if we fail again, the world will be changed, because they will go unchallenged forever, and only summon more servants. And as they are drawing their power from the Holy Grail itself, they do not have the same limits as a servant with a Master. However, now we are now in a unique position. Master is the new core, yet still maintains his physical form, even if his mind is not active. This also frees us of some of our previous limits. We no longer have to worry about running out of magical power, or looking after Master to make sure he survives. We are free to proceed as we wish."

"That's true, but without a way to become stronger, we're still back at square one." Lorelei said.

"Yes, but I haven't finished explaining. Gilgamesh said that Solomon's ritual spell is still active." All of their eyes widened, surprised.

"Apparently, if we go outside, we can still sense it, but we were overwhelmed by the magical energy they were exerting back in the desert, so we couldn't tell at the time. They must have overprepared for the ritual, since there is leftover magic power that they could not absorb, due to reaching the peak of their abilities already. They also could not erase it, because of the residual energy of heroic spirits."

"Are you certain?!" Lorelei asked.

"Gilgamesh was. He said that there might be enough left to allow a few of us who are top class to ascend to Grand class. We should take turns forming a plan and training to prepare for this. Another week should be sufficient."

"I wish we could discuss and consider more options, but that seems to be the only decision we can move along with. So, Jeanne and Nobunaga, I would like you two to be the first round of planners with me, as talented commanders in your own times."

"Good. Scathach, you and I should spar. Kato and Musashi should do the same. Nightingale, I would like you to be on standby for any potential injuries. Nero, you'll be on reserve for now in training."

They all nodded, and the servants went outside to practice, while the others went over to the desk, where Lorelei brought up a map of the world on her computer.

"We have five locations to cover: Tokyo, Paris, Jerusalem, Luxor, and Tehran. Should we go get Hayashi back first?"

"As much as I would like to, it doesn't seem wise. In fact, we should save Hayashi for last." Nobu suggested.

"If we went after Angra right away, there's a strong possibility that the others would follow and attempt to eliminate us as a team. Since eliminating Angra would result in the others disappearing, they would obviously try to prevent that. It's the reason that their relationships work; Angra needs them to help carry out his ambitions, and they need him to remain in this world. It's also why they obey him, even if he's weaker than Solomon and Ramesses."

"Then how do you suppose we deal with them?"

"I have an idea. We need to be able to keep their attention, so that they're too occupied to chase after and assist another. In that sense, we should split into three groups, one fighting Hijikata, one fighting Edmond, and one fighting Solomon. Ramesses is too strong to fight without all of us working together, so we'll need to meet up after the first three are defeated, and then to travel to Egypt together. He's the type that wouldn't really care about the others or actively try to assist them. Like I said before, he would help Angra out of necessity, because it would mean that his contract would be severed. So if we take the first three on all at once to prevent interference, then fight Ramesses as a group, and then fight Angra last, we'll be able to defeat them all on our terms."

"Wow...that's really well thought out." Jeanne blinked.

"That sounds like it will work. Now, how do we split everyone up?"

Nobu looked over at Jeanne for her input.

"Considering the amount of magic power we have to work with from the ritual's remnants, I would say that we should aim to have three of us become Grand Class. That way, there's one Grand Servant for each of the first three, and three for fighting Rider."

"That makes sense. We also want to make sure that whoever undergoes the ritual is strong, so that they don't have to absorb as much magic power, and we can conserve more for the others." Lorelei added.

"Going by that logic, the most suitable choices would be Altera, Scathach, and myself…" Jeanne figured.

"...I think it should be the three that are closest to him."

"Hm?" Jeanne and Lorelei looked over.

"Nero, you, and Scathach. You three are the ones that mean the most to him, after all. I think it's only fitting that you defend his beliefs and take up the mantle of Grand and Savior of this world."

"The closest to him…?" Jeanne asked with a slight blush on his face.

"Yes. You can call me crazy, but I've noticed something from all of the time we spent with Master. There is a reason that each of us are compatible for a contract with him. I think we each represent an aspect of his personality, and by having all of us around him, he was able to find himself again from the semi-depression he seemed to be in at the start."

"An aspect of his personality? Is that possible?" Lorelei asked, putting her hand to her chin in a thinking pose.

"It is. Hayashi said that he often summons Servants without catalysts, due to the amount of time, effort, and research it requires to find and acquire one. When you summon without one, you will be matched up with a Servant whose personality or nature you are compatible with. That is why he first summoned Angra, as a representation of his neutrality on humanity's position within this world, of how he is not fond of certain people but must protect them at the same time. Angra is the same way. When he first began this mission, he summoned Nero, Altera, and Jeanne. I believe that Nero represents his playful and humorous nature, how he often likes to tease and joke with us. Altera probably represents the evil in his heart, his thirst for revenge and fighting, and the hollowness inside of him when he kills someone. Jeanne must represent the goodness in him, the pureness in his heart towards his friends and comrades."

"I see...and the others?" Jeanne asked.

"Nightingale wasn't summoned by him, but made a contract with him. However, at this point, she might as well have been, considering how close the two were. I would surmise that she represents his protective nature, wanting to shield us from harm, and protect humanity from destroying itself. As for myself, I would say that I resemble his ambition. As an ambitious person myself, I can tell that he will stop at nothing to see his goals achieved. Kato would be his loyalty to others, to his friends and comrades. Mozart would have been his intelligence and creativity, due to the amount of cultures he's familiar with and how he applies them to his life. I imagine Musashi represents his laziness, how he wishes to relax when he has nothing else to do, and to wander and explore. And Scathach, even though she was not summoned by him at first, represents his coldness towards his enemies, how he does not care for those with beliefs that he deems wicked. At least that's the way I interpret it."

"So Nero, Jeanne and Scathach are the three he's closest with…" Lorelei thought again.

"His humorous nature, the goodness in himself, and his cold attitude. Two of these are aspects he feels he lost because of Angra, and the third is now a part of him." She pointed out.

"Yes. But also, Nero and Jeanne were among the first three he summoned. They are also the ones that require more human interaction and emotion to feel complete, as Altera doesn't. And Scathach is similar to himself, and also the only member of Angra's summoned servants that realized that their plan was not for the benefit of this world. He took an immediate interest in her when we first met." Nobu added.

"Since Scathach and I are already Top Servants, I'm not worried about us, but will we have enough to turn Nero into a Grand Saber?" Jeanne asked.

"She is already just under the mark of Top Class. I imagine that she will not take as much energy as you might think." Nobu interjected.

"So then...let's really begin breaking this plan of yours down, Archer." Lorelei nodded at her.

"Very well."

Outside, the others had begun practicing. Scathach and Altera were slashing and countering each others moves to a standstill, and Musashi was constantly having to alter her defensive counters to Kato's various arsenal of attacks. Nightingale stood on the side, watching each, prepared to heal them should anything happen.

'We're coming, Master. We're not going to let things end like this.' Nightingale thought with a determined look on her face.

 **X**

Scathach snuck into the office, now that it was nighttime and the others were asleep in their respective quarters. She tip-toed over to the desk and stared at the notebook for a second, wondering if she was really the one meant to open it. She slowly reached her hand out and placed her hand on the cover, but she didn't get burned like the others were. Her eyes widening slightly in surprise, the seal on the cover faded away, allowing for anyone to open it. She opened the small book to the first page, where some neat writing was.

 _Scathach,_

 _I know you are the one reading this because you are the only one the seal will allow to open this book. You've seen me write in this before, but I never told you about the contents. After every mission we went on, and each city we went to, I wrote down my thoughts, eventually progressing into theories of how to become a Heroic Spirit once all of this is over. So these words are recollections of our journey, almost a years' worth. I made the seal recognize you among the others because I know that you're the only one who won't stop me. I hope you won't decide to stop me when you get to the end, either. I hope to see you again on the Throne, even if you don't remember me._

Scathach continued to read through the journal intently, going all the way through, and sighing heavily when she finished, closing the book and placing it on her lap.

"...No, Master, I won't stop you. But I wish there was another way." She said sadly.

 **X**

"So this is it?" Jeanne asked, as the group now walked through the entrance of Abu Simbel, searching for the source of the remnants of magic power. They continued through the dark place, Lorelei lighting each torch along the way to brighten things up, before coming to the final chamber, where there was a glowing blue pool of energy on the ground.

"There." She pointed to it.

"Let's not waste any time." Lorelei said. Nero, Jeanne, and Scathach stepped forward, preparing to undergo the ritual. But Jeanne suddenly got a look of concern on her face.

"What's wrong?" Nero asked.

"Stop. I can already tell...there's not enough for all three of us. There's barely enough here for two."

Nobu sighed and stepped forward, Kato doing the same along with her.

"What is it?" Altera asked curiously. Lorelei watched on with a sad but knowing glance.

"We had a feeling that this might happen, so...Kato and I have resolved to sacrifice ourselves and our own magic energy to see you succeed."

"What?!" The others all looked at them in shock.

"Don't start. Your tears are wasted on us." Nobu chuckled, closing her eyes and grinning.

"Indeed. Nobu and I have admittedly not been as helpful to Master as the rest of you are, as far as strength, participation, and bonding."

"That's not true, he cares for you too! We would never have been able to get this far without your help!" Jeanne cried.

Nobu shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. The crux of this problem is that we need more magical energy to make this work. So the two of us will provide you with it. Don't feel bad. It can't be helped."

"I suppose that's right…" Nero said sadly.

"No matter what, it's most important that you stop them. This is the only chance we get." Kato told them. The two stepped forward again and began to be surrounded by their red magic powers, channeling them into the ritual. Their spirit origins began to fluctuate as they continued, and before long, the last dwindling particles became a part of it, and the two began to disappear.

"I have nothing more to say. Good luck." Nobu smiled at them. She and Kato were gone for real now.

The pool now had much more energy in it than before.

"She said not to be sad. There was nothing we could do about, and they made it possible for this plan to come to fruition. We have already let them do as they please for two weeks. We cannot afford to wait any longer." Lorelei told them.

"You're right." Jeanne wiped the tears from her eyes, and the three stepped forward again, and began to absorb energy into themselves, using up the rest of it. Their magic powers spiked, and before long, they also disappeared, being transported inside of the grail.

"What just happened?!" Musashi asked, startled.

"Relax. This must be part of the ritual, since the magic circle hasn't disappeared yet." Lorelei calmed them.

Nero, Jeanne, and Scathach all found themselves in separate spaces inside of the Grail, with an endless blue and black space before them.

Before Jeanne were all of the monarchs of France, paired off to make a line, ranked from least important to most important.

" _King of the Sun, the only king of France worthy of the name."_ The former monarchs were all chanting in unison.

"Continue onwards to your trial, challenger." A confident voice called out to her, making her look up in confusion. She began to walk through the line of monarchs, beginning to find the more famous ones as she went on. Eventually, the scenery changed into the streets of Versailles, with the palace in the distance, making her gulp and continue onward. The more famous French rulers were seen as she continued, such as Louis XVI, Louis IX, Hugh Capet, and at the end, Napoleon Bonaparte and Charlemagne.

In Nero's own area, she noticed that all Roman Emperors were lined up.

" _Our Saint, our great ruler, he who founded a second eternal city, a second empire."_ They recited.

"Follow them, Empress." A calm voice called out to her. Halfway through, the area changed into Constantinople, with the Hagia Sophia being at the end of the path. As she progressed, the more famous Roman Emperors became recognizable. As she neared the steps of the temple, she passed by Claudius and Tiberius, Marcus Aurelius and Caracalla, Commodus, Augustus and Caligula, and by the steps, Hadrian and Trajan.

The monarchs of Scotland being laid out before her, Scathach walked through of her own accord, eventually reaching a point where the scenery changed into an open battlefield with a castle in the distance. As she neared it, she saw more noticeable rulers such as Kenneth II, Donald III, James VI and I, and Mary, Queen of Scots. Sitting at the steps of the castle was a man with neck length dark brown hair, wearing medieval Scottish armor, with a silver gleaming sword planted into the ground.

"Welcome, Saint of Orleans." Louis XIV greeted Jeanne, standing a few inches taller than her.

"Who are you?"

"I am Ruler class, Louis XIV. Former king of France and one of the most powerful and influential monarchs in history." He smirked, boasting.

"Oh! Apologies, Your Majesty, but when I was alive, there had only been 10 Louis' who had reigned as King of France."

"Yes, I am aware. However, by my time, you had long been canonized as a Saint in the church. Though I must say, as a servant, I can tell that my own strength far eclipses your own."

"What makes you say that?" She asked defensively.

"I figured that as a Top Servant you would be strong, but I never imagined the difference in our strengths to be so vast. I am the Grand Ruler candidate after all."

Jeanne stepped back in shock, worried about fighting this man.

"You want to become a Grand Servant, I take it?"

"Y-Yes."

"Heh. Not sounding like that you won't. I am in charge of the trials of French Servants who wish to do the same as you. I fought against that Edmond Dantes before. He was ready to fight, unlike you."

"What do you mean?!" She summoned her flag, regaining her composure.

"You're quaking in your boots thinking about fighting me. You know that it might be impossible for you to win. In order to become a Grand Servant, the challenger must fight and defeat the most influential leader in their land of origin's history. You have no choice in the matter unless you wish to forfeit."

"I do not." She shook her head.

"Very well then. I, Louis XIV The Great, will be your opponent. Saint Jeanne d'Arc of Domremy-La Pucelle, your trial begins now!"

Jeanne ran at him, but found herself sent flying back onto the ground very quickly thanks to Louis' sword.

"Is that...Joyeuse?!" She asked.

"Indeed. It was used as the official sword of coronation for French Kings since Philip III in the 1200s. You should be aware of this, you helped put Charles VII on the throne, did you not?"

"I did, but Charlemagne is already a Servant, and uses that sword himself!"

"Oh, this is a different variation to his. Our abilities differ. His sword is one based upon the legends of his knights and the ability to unite people, while mine is used as an icon of absolute power and the brilliance of the sun's shine."

"Alter! Switch!" Jeanne called out, but nothing happened.

"That won't work, I'm afraid." Louis shed his cape and dropped it gently to the carpeted floor by his throne, leaving him in his black armor with a blue sash over it. He began walking towards her, lightly swinging his sword.

"What do you mean…?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Only one aspect of yourself is allowed to take the trial. If another side of you is sharing your body and mind out in the real world, they do not exist here. If you succeed in defeating me however, they will disappear, but you will take on their powers as well. You become the strongest version of yourself."

She held her flag up to block, and he clashed with her again, sending her flying away from the strength of the holy sword.

"Come now, Holy Maiden, you must actually try and put in some effort." He smirked at her, running towards her again.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" She brought up her barrier and deflected his attack, knocking him off balance as she swung her flagpole into the side of his head, sending him flying this time. Rolling across the ground, he remained motionless while blood came out of his temple, making him drop his sword lightly.

"Oh…! Damn…" Jeanne slowly and hesitantly got closer to him, yet he remained dead. Standing over him, she began to bend down to look at him before finding herself slashed across the chest twice and kicked away, sent flying out of the palace and landing against the fountain pool outside, her hair getting slightly wet as she leaned her head back in pain. The sword was much stronger that time than it was before.

Using a barrier magic, she healed her slashes slightly, but the area above her breasts still hurt. Remaining seated on the marble step and catching her breath, she looked to the entrance where Louis walked out, coming towards her with all of his wounds healed and radiating a gold magic power.

"Le Roi du Soleil. One of my Noble Phantasms. It gathers all of my power and influence from my historical accounts and empowers me as the ideal divine king, bringing out my true power. The sun and I are one, and I am invincible now. My attacks are stronger, my defense is unbreakable, and my magic power radiates this aura. I may as well be the Grand Ruler right now." He walked up to her and placed his sword's tip at the fabric of her chestplate.

Jeanne gasped for air before grabbing her own sword, beginning to pull it out to use it.

"The sword of St. Catherine? You do not plan to sacrifice yourself, do you?"

"How do you know...about my second Noble Phantasm?"

"Le Roi du Soleil allows me to ascertain your parameters and Noble Phantasms as well. I can tell you right now that this is not the way to do things if you wish to defeat me. Do you know what it means to be a Grand Servant?"

"It's...to have the power to save others. I need to be strong enough...to defeat Rider...and rescue my Master...I love him…" She pulled herself to her feet, her healing magic gradually working more and more.

"An admirable answer. But that is not all there is to it. The Seven Grand Servants. Atilla, the demigod invincible King of the Huns, who nearly brought down the Roman Empire, a civilization that had been standing unmatched for 1700 years. Karna, the demigod mythological Prince of India, whose strength was only matched by his humble nature, leading to his downfall by his half-brother, yet immortalizing him as both a God of Fire and one of the most powerful Heroic Spirits. Gilgamesh, humanity's first hero and a legendary King of Mesopotamia, whose treasury contains all of the world's valuables, and allows him to rule with the power of a god walking on earth. Ramesses II, Egypt's most powerful pharaoh and one of history's most legendary kings, his deeds are talked about in both a historical and biblical fashion, a man who painted himself and his strength as the one true child of the sun and the one who is seen as a staple of his country and the ancient world. Solomon, Israel's most famous king who brought an end to the Age of Gods by being granted the power to use magecraft and bringing it to human hands, remembered in history as both a master apocryphal scholar as well as the most powerful mage to ever exist. Hassan-i-Sabbah, the first to take the name, who founded the Assassin religion and became so dedicated to his faith that it became a part of him, becoming the representation of Death itself, being able to watch over humanity for the rest of time. Hijikata Toshizo, the samurai who led the rebellion against the most important revolution in his nation's history, single-handedly defeating thousands of enemy soldiers before falling like a true samurai, becoming the only Berserker to maintain rationality without being overtaken by Madness Enhancement. Do you know what all of these Servants have in common with each other?"

"...What is it?" She asked cautiously.

"They all did what they did for their people, for their nation. Being a Grand Servant means that you fight on behalf of the planet, not for your own personal goals. It means that you become the symbol of your land of origin, fighting on behalf of the life you lead and the people you impacted. The way you're looking at things now, you'll never be able to win."

"You think my goals are selfish and personally driven? Do you even know what I'm fighting for?!"

"Of course. I can understand anyone's motivations when they take this trial thanks to the Grail's power. You are trying to stop those five from controlling the world through magecraft. Four of them are already the Grand candidates for their classes. But why stop them? They are already bringing immense positive change within their nations."

"That's true...but their plan is to continue to summon other servants and leave them in charge of other countries. But Servants cannot disappear once summoned unless they run out of magic energy or are defeated by someone else. Since their source of summoning is the grail, they're not ever going to run out, and servants can't be defeated by normal people. They'd remain in power forever."

"And that's a bad thing? It seems to me that those five have all understood the world's needs and have evolved as people since their original lives. Having a permanent positive rule in all of the world's nations? Sounds good to me."

"This world is run by the people, for the people. It's always been that way. Even in countries that are authoritarian governments. The people are the ones who stand against an unlawful government. The people are the ones who overthrow their leader in favor of a new one. As a fellow Servant of France, we know that better than everyone."

"..."

"But mark my words, if Servants remain in charge of the world for the rest of time, this won't be possible. The people will have no choice in the matter. And what happens if these servants start to get into arguments with each other? Wars could still break out and then the damage could be catastrophic. Imagine if Ramesses got into a fight with Karna? Entire countries would be vaporized in minutes. Do you want that on your conscience, knowing that you originally supported them? This is not a revolution, it's a regime taking over. And I'm going to stop it."

"Hm. Then prove it. Show me that you can defeat me."

"Gladly!" She pulled her sword out and raised it above her head, creating a pillar of fire, making Louis jump back, surprised.

"Oh hoh...you can use fire too, even without your other self. Things are getting interesting!" He slashed through the fire, heading towards her again. This time she blocked his strike with her own sword, again knocked off balance because of the strength of Joyeuse's strikes were still too much for her to stand on equal ground with. Spinning around and kicking him across the face, she then created beams of light generated from her flagpole and shot them towards Louis, piercing him and sending him flying across the courtyard.

'I can't let up!' She dashed towards him again for a killing blow, but he recovered and got out of the way before she could.

"Heh. Let's try this again. I am one of the few bestowed with a King title by the Holy Grail. Because of my nature and influence, my power is limitless. Now witness it firsthand! Grand Roi Des Monarques: Joyeuse Divine Versailles!" Joyeuse began to glow golden, and his magic aura enhanced, as he pointed the weapon at Jeanne again. The palace itself began to glow along with him, and only enhanced Joyeuse's power further.

"This will be my final attack. My Noble Phantasms: Joyeuse, the Holy Sword, an Anti-Unit type that acts as my main weapon and reveals my True Name. Château de Versailles, my most famous creation, a Fortress type to defend me from large-scale attacks. Le Roi De Soleil, an Anti-Unit Self type that paints me as the most powerful King of France. And now, Grand Roi Des Monarques: Joyeuse Divine Versailles. It is my variation of Joyeuse Ordre, since I cannot use that as I am not the original wielder. However, this version is stronger. I possess the version of Joyeuse that is the Holy Sword of Coronation rather than a legendary sword of a knight. This Noble Phantasm allows me to wipe out my land and start anew, a fusion of Versailles and Joyeuse into a massive beam of energy, an Anti-City type. If you can block this, I will allow you a final blow to win. If not, then you will fail, and be expelled from this place, failing the ritual. Understood?"

"...Yes." She readied her flag.

'My Luminosite Eternelle can block up to Anti-City Noble Phantasms...I'll be okay, but it will still take much of my strength to stop it.'

"Now here's the work of the Lord! My flag, defend our brethren! Luminosite Eternelle!"

"Once more! I am one of the few bestowed with a King title by the Holy Grail! Because of my nature and influence, my power is limitless! Now witness it firsthand! Grand Roi Des Monarques: Joyeuse Divine Versailles!" Both the palace and his sword fired off beams of golden energy that met and combined, creating a massive blast that closed in on Jeanne, slamming into her barrier.

"NNNNNGGGGG…..!" Jeanne tried her absolute best to hold her ground, her feet being pushed through the ground slightly.

"That's quite the Barrier Noble Phantasm!" Louis laughed.

"I'm...not going to lose!" She managed to power through it, splitting the beam and deflecting both of them away into the gardens, disintegrating them with the blast radius and the shockwaves, knocking both Jeanne and Louis off balance.

"So, she did it after all." Louis chuckled, closing his eyes and smiling as he felt her impale him with her sword.

"I felt that you were worthy of death by my blade rather than my flag." She looked up at him, holding the hilt of her sword.

"Heh...congratulations...Holy Maiden...you did well…"

"You let yourself be hit. Why? You could have easily won this if you had taken this fight seriously, especially since I didn't have access to my Avenger powers."

"Because you needed this victory. As Rulers, it is our job to mediate conflicts involving Servants, is it not? It has been quite the arduous journey for you. Many of the Servants you faced were stronger than your party. You did not always win. And of course your confrontation in Cairo was a total loss. And now you're in a troubled position because of it."

"Does that mean that you actually support our mission?"

"It is not my job to pick sides. Our job as a class is to be mediators. Since you were summoned by a Master, you of course follow your Master's orders instead. I meant what I said before. The situation in the world right now could both ways: Servant leaders could be incredibly successful and better the world, or they could do the opposite. But I realized partway through our battle...if people were to suddenly see you and I fight up close, with everything we've done, do you think they'd be able to handle that? Let alone other fights with Servants more powerful than us? A mediator does not always mean to be neutral. It sometimes means to choose the side that would benefit the world most."

Jeanne smiled slightly, removing her sword from him as he and Versailles started to disappear.

"As I said, you have passed. So, temporarily, you will be given the rank of Grand Ruler, and your Alter self will merge with you, allowing you access to both sides of your powers, as well as a few new ones. When you are a Grand Servant, you must be in the mindset of performing actions in service of your country and for the world. You no longer serve a Master. Remember that."

"...Yes." She nodded.

"Very well. Congratulations, Jeanne D'Arc, Maiden of Orleans." He smiled and disappeared, the Grail beginning to send her back.

"What a complicated guy…"

 **X**

Nero, standing at the steps of the Hagia Sophia, looked at the two famous emperors next to her, Hadrian and Trajan.

"So what now?" She asked.

"That should be obvious, Empress. Your opponent awaits you inside." Trajan explained, holding his hand out towards the stairs.

"Opponent?"

"Yes. In order to become a temporary Grand Servant, you must face the most powerful and influential leader in your land or origin's history."

"What?! It's not me?!" She pouted. Trajan slapped her, making her whine and hold her cheek.

"No, of course it's not you. Don't you remember your past? Or are you so narcissistic that you really think of yourself as the perfect leader?" Nero remembered Hayashi reading to her about her image in the world's eyes, then looked down.

"Sorry…" She apologized.

"Even if it was you, they find a substitute for you to fight, the next most influential after you. People remember both you and your uncle as two of the most famous Roman Emperors, but not in a good way. As for who you'll be facing...have you ever heard of Byzantium? Constantinople? Istanbul?"

"No...what are they?"

"They're the three names of a single city. A city given the title of "The Second Rome." The eastern half of the empire that flourished for another thousand years after the western half fell. The emperor that founded that city. That is who you'll be facing." Hadrian explained.

"I see...thank you, successors." She continued on up the stairs and entered into the massive cathedral, seeing a gilded throne at the back wall, where the altar was, and sitting on it, a young and handsome man in his mid 30s, wearing a laurel wreath on his light brown hair, regal golden roman armor, a golden cape and drapes, a long roman skirt and tall golden boots, with a silver sword in his right hand, and his left hand on the arm of his throne.

"Well. Here you are." He stood up, walking slowly towards her. Nero, being rather short, backed up nervously as this guy was a good foot taller than her.

"So, the Mad Empress is scared of something. How interesting."

"Who are you…?" She asked cautiously, trying not to let her voice crack.

"My name is Constantine. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus. Remembered as Constantine the Great. I began as Caesar of the Western Empire under my father before becoming Augustus of the West, the senior emperor, then Emperor of Rome entirely. I founded Byzantium, the new capital of the east, and transferred all political power there."

"Oh, Master did say something about Rome splitting into an eastern and western empire, didn't he? And that Altera became a key factor in the west's downfall. So you created this "Second Rome" then?"

"I did indeed. I saw that Rome was failing me and that a new center of civilization needed to be incorporated."

"You gave up on your home!"

"I was not born there. I was born in Niš, in modern day Serbia. Constantinople is my true home." Nero angrily summoned her sword and clashed with his own, which he easily blocked and slashed her away.

"I didn't give you permission to begin yet. You should also hold your rage in. No wonder you didn't make a good emperor."

Nero growled at him.

"Fine, if you're so eager to begin. I, Ruler class Constantine the Great, greatest Emperor of Rome, shall be your opponent! Let your trial begin!" This time, Constantine took the offensive, dashing to Nero and slashing at her, sending her flying out of the temple even though she blocked it with her own blade. The other emperors watched as she fell down the steps, landing in the streets of the city.

"You're going to criticize me for leaving Rome behind and building a new capital? If I hadn't done that, Rome would have fallen much sooner. I created a new empire that lasted for another thousand years after me! What have you done? You scapegoated christians for everything that was your wrongdoing! You threw them to animals, you impaled them on stakes, drenched them in oil, then lit them on fire to light your gardens! You castrated people and killed your lovers!"

"That was all my mother's doing! She poisoned me!"

"Perhaps so, but you continued to do those things long after she was dead. And you think you can put me down for what I did?" He walked down to her until he stood over her, looking down.

"Saint Peter. Peter the Apostle. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"Ugh...he was...a Christian...a follower of Jesus…" She held her head, standing up.

"Yes. And you crucified him. For having a different religion than you. Do you want to know what I am most famous for?" She continued to hold her head, feeling another migraine come on, looking at him.

"Other than founding Byzantium, I am the first Christian Emperor. I adopted the faith and made it legal, renouncing the old Roman gods. What did they do for us? We won our battles, not Mars. We asked Mars for victory and he sent Atilla to destroy us instead. So I chose to believe in something else. Are you going to kill me too?"

"Shut up...Mother...I thought I told you to piss off...I thought I got over these months ago…" She mumbled, gripping her hair in distress, dropping her sword.

"Still poisoned, Empress?" Constantine asked, walking around her slowly.

"Ugh...no." She surprised him by sending him flying back further into the city, her sword now in its silver form.

"That was to get you to drop your guard." She smirked at him, planting her sword into the ground.

"You want to see what I built? Behold my talent! Listen to the thunderous applause! Here is the honor of the Imperium! Like a blooming flower...Open! The Golden Theater! I shall offer this gift to a full moon...dancing scatters the flowers, and cleaves open a star! Behold the supreme beauty...and praise it! Aestus Domus Aurea!" Her theater took over the area, Constantine looking around unfazed.

"A Reality Marble…? No, High Thaumaturgy."

"You're trapped. This Noble Phantasm is made in my image and belief that I can do anything I put my mind to. It gives me every advantage possible and the longer we stay here, the stronger I get and the weaker you get." She smiled at him confidently.

"How unique. Too bad it won't last." He held his hand out and summoned a large, jeweled cross, then bringing it to his chest and grasping it with both hands, beginning to recite a prayer.

"In the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, Rachael and Leah, Joseph, Moses, Saul, David, Solomon, Elijah, Joseph and Mary, Jesus, and the 12 Apostles, wipe this slate clean and allow the Lord's light to break through all evil spread before me! Sanctae Crucis Verum Fidei!" He swiped the cross to his side, and suddenly Nero's whole theater shattered, bringing them back to Constantinople.

"Impossible…!"

"My first Noble Phantasm, Secundum Aeternam, Second Eternal City, is this city, a Fortress type manifestation of Istanbul. My second is called Sanctae Crucis Verum Fidei, Holy Cross of the True Faith, an Anti-Purge Noble Phantasm that allows my cross to dispel anything that is seen as an obstacle to me."

"You must have more than two if you are a Ruler Servant of Rome."

"Very perceptive. But you also have more than two if I'm not mistaken."

"I do...the first one is my theater. And the second and third require my first to be active!" She yelled, summoning a tornado of roses before spinning around with her sword outstretched, hoping to slice him.

Constantine held out his sword and blocked her own when she came to the right angle, stopping her attack. The two continued to clash blades furiously before he stepped back, making her lose her balance, then slice her across the stomach, making her fall to her knees.

"I was not just a leader in internal affairs, I was a military commander as well, Empress. I know my way around a fight."

"I can see that…" She slowly got to her feet, panting.

"You're outmatched. You're a good match for Trajan, but you're still far weaker than I. All of the main classes save Berserkers are a bad match against Rulers. We are the mediators after all. It's the way the Throne of Heroes works."

"That doesn't mean I can't win."

"Come again?"

"Even if a Servant is weak to another class, they can still win by overpowering the other side! Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theater rises from within the sea- Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the Illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theater! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" Nero activated her strongest Noble Phantasm, bringing them into a new area covered by the sea, with her improved theater rising from beneath the water, herself now standing at the top.

"Now fire!" She called out, pointing down to him. The theater's pipe organs rose out of it and fired a barrage of purple lasers heading straight towards him.

"It seems you didn't learn anything from before! Sanctae Crucis Verum Fidei!" He summoned his cross again, but this time it didn't have any effect when he swiped it through the air.

"This theater is my upgraded version! My influence is no longer just inside of it, it is also outside! You can't erase my influence so easily anymore! This whole area is a much higher level of Thaumaturgy than before! It negates Anti-Purge Noble Phantasms!"

"And it was used on top of my Secundum Aeternam already...! I can't block it…!" He held his hands up in defense, but the laser barrage overwhelmed him and caused a massive explosion, sending them back to the city once the area disappeared.

"Ugh…" Constantine's cape and sashes were now burned off, and his armor was damaged as well. He was still able to move around though.

"Now let's finish this. Aestus Domus Aurea! Open the gate! The curtain to the solo stage draws! Behold my talent! LIsten to the thunderous applause! Praise it! The Golden Theater! Laus Saint Claudius!" She ignited her sword again and dashed towards him, hoping to slash him.

"No...not yet...The time is now! Strike down the non-believers in the names of all those who are holy and saw you as the one true god! I willingly give myself up in order to smite this heretic! Maiestatem Verum Fidei: Quoniam Iudicium Dei!" He held his sword above his head and just as Nero was about to cut through him, a giant pillar of white light engulfed both of them as well as the city. The beam was strong enough to shatter the ground and all of the buildings from the shockwave, ripping his Fortress Noble Phantasm apart.

Nothing remained, save for the battered bodies of the two, both barely conscious. Nero forced herself onto her knees by leaning onto her sword, while Constantine remained on the ground.

"Damn...I should've waited before using it...I lost." He looked up at her, lying face down.

"What...was that…?"

"My third Noble Phantasm. You asked about it, right? Maiestatem Verum Fidei: Quoniam Iudicium Dei. Majesty of the True Faith: God's Judgement. It is a Pseudo-Suicide Type Noble Phantasm that depletes much of my energy and injures me immensely as a final effort to take out my opponent. My sword connects to God and sends a beam of light down to engulf both myself and my opponent with the output of an Anti-City Noble Phantasm. But it looks like you survived, and I had already taken damage for your own Noble Phantasm previously. So count yourself lucky, Empress. Congratulations. By the power vested in me as the overseer of Grand Class Trials for Roman Servants, I will allow you to temporarily become the Grand Saber." His body faded away into nothingness, and Nero was sent back, her wounds healed.

 **X**

"So, this is some sort of test for becoming Grand Class?" Scathach asked, as the other monarchs faded away behind her. The only one remaining was the man in front of her, in the medieval armor.

"Indeed. Welcome, warrior of Scotland."

"Hm. So the Grail has pitted me against another warrior of my homeland. How interesting, seeing as I more closely identify with Ireland as my home."

"You are Scathach, the Maiden of Shadows, no? Your castle was based in Scotland, and you also lived there for your whole life, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're correct. But due to training Cu Chulainn, I became more closely associated with Ireland and becoming involved with their affairs. I admit that because I spent my life in the Land of Shadows, I did not pay much attention to what happened in Scotland over the years. By the time it was the 6th century, I disappeared and began existing inside of the Throne, as an immortal Servant who never truly passed away, but was important enough to become so."

"How admirable. Then allow me to give you a brief history lesson. The Ulster Cycle of Ireland, is traditionally dated to the First Century AD, just before Rome conquered Britannia. When the Roman Republic was at its end and the Roman Empire came about, Julius Caesar made expeditions out into the rest of Western Europe, including all the way up here, marking the first time the people of England and Scotland first had contact with the outside world. When Boudica's revolt failed, Rome had total control of Europe until the 400s when the Western Empire collapsed. But Rome's control was of Britain, and their influence on Scotland was significantly less since they didn't travel that far north, and nonexistent in Ireland since they didn't go past the border of Wales. Therefore, Roman influence in Scotland ended roughly two hundred years earlier than England, and the Pictish tribes were born, with various Kings taking charge of their tribes and land. The Picts unified two kingdoms in the 7th century, and Irish missionaries came to Scotland to introduce Christianity, wiping out much of the previous Celtic culture. In the 9th century, the Picts and Gaels, the two kingdoms, united against the Viking invasions to form the Kingdom of Scotland. The House of Alpin ruled, then passing to the House of Dunkeld. But in 1286, the last king died, and so did his young daughter 4 years later, leaving no true successor to the throne. So Edward I of England took advantage of this and took control of Scotland, leaving us to fight for our independence, under my own house and command, beating the English back in 1307 and 1314, and becoming independent once again, fully recognized by them in 1328. Descendants of mine then founded the House of Stuart which eventually became the ruling house for subsequent Monarchs of both England and Scotland, and the predecessor of House Hanover and House Windsor, former ruling houses of England. In 1707, Scotland and England united once again to become the Kingdom of Great Britain before going through several other various changes and becoming the modern United Kingdom that it is today."

"I see. So it has gone through some hardships after all."

"Indeed. But you should always remember your ties to your homeland, regardless of whether or not you were part of Irish Mythology."

"I do." She readied her spear, and he pointed his sword at her.

"Eager to prove it, are you? Very well then. My name is Saber, Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots and Guardian of Scotland. I will be your opponent for this trial. Let's begin!"

Scathach rushed at him and began to attack by twirling her spear, which he countered easily with his own weapon, before one of his blocks was strong enough to hold her in place, then slash her back.

"You've only used one hand so far. Impressive that you can already match my strength." She complimented him.

"You're clearly testing me." He said indifferently, swinging his sword a few more times.

"I could say the same of you. Very well, then let's see what you'll do when I become a bit more serious!" She jumped into the air and tossed her spear up before kicking it back down towards him, splitting into many copies that rained down towards him.

"Gae Bolg Alternative!"

"As the last stronghold in our hands, you are a monument to our everlasting freedom. Now protect us once more! Stirling Castle!" The castle behind him disappeared and materialized in front of him, deflecting the spears without any difficulty, Scathach landing across from it and looking at the building questioningly.

Saber then came walking out of the entrance, looking at her.

"A Fortress Type?"

"Yes. That is not my only Noble Phantasm either. Now is the time that we take back our country! Fight with me brothers! Saighdearan Loudoun!" Robert raised his sword in the air, and suddenly 500 Scottish soldiers appeared behind him, shouting out battle cries.

"'Soldiers of Loudoun?' 500 people is hardly an army."

"500 people is all I needed to defeat the English at the Battle of Loudoun Hill. Attack." They all cheered and ran at her.

"Your souls are mine. Gate of Skye!" She tapped her spear on the ground, summoning the gates to the Land of Shadows. As they opened, the cold whirlwind swallowed up all of the soldiers, vanquishing them before closing, leaving just the two of them again.

"You are quite powerful. But let's see if you can stop this." He held his sword up in front of him, beginning to gather golden energy into the blade.

"Here lies the invincible, blessed King Robert. Whoever reads about his feats will repeat the many battles that he fought. By his integrity, he guided to Liberty the Kingdom of the Scots. May he now live in heaven. Son of Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, son of Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, son of Isobel of Huntingdon, daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, son of Henry, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland, son of David mac Mail Choluim, King of Scots. This is my lineage and my claim to the throne, and now I am forever engraved into the history of my country as its deliverer of peace! Now fall to me so that I'm able to bring peace about once again! Guardian of Scotland, Ancestor of Kings!" He pointed his sword at her and released a huge blast of Golden energy towards her.

"An Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm meant to bring down the English castles that stand as symbols against our natural freedom! See if you can stop this one!"

"Here I go. Stab and penetrate! Gae Bolg Alternative!" She twirled her spear before throwing it straight into the blast, continuing through and splitting it into two other rays, surprising Robert as it ended up impaling him through the chest, stopping the attack.

"An Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm...it is quite the powerful classification, but if the weapon itself has no special qualities to it, then my spear can easily power through any of its attacks. And as far as I could tell, even from the very beginning, your sword is made of a fine and sharp metal, but it has no holy, demoic, or divine aspects to it. And a sword like that is never going to beat Gae Bolg, one of the most legendary spears in the world." She held her hand out and her weapon removed itself from him and flew back to her, catching it as she walked up to him.

"You are also an immortal servant and a top member of your class, more formidable than many servants in the entire Throne. I did not expect to be able to do much against you." He smiled at her.

"But if you are weaker than I am, why are you the one conducting these fights?"

"Because we are chosen by legacy in our country. You were not a leader, and only a shadowy figure in celtic mythology, no matter how strong you were. I was the favorite king of the people. We are top servants nonetheless, but we are not always the strongest in our country's history. Edmond defeated Louis XIV after all, and he was never royalty either."

"I see."

"In any case, congratulations. As the overseer for all servants of Scotland, I give you my blessing to achieve the title of Grand Lancer temporarily."

"Thank you...my king." She bowed before him, making him chuckle lightly before he disappeared, sending Scathach back to the real world.

 **X**

"How long has it been now?" Musashi asked.

"Twenty minutes. I'm not sure how long this is supposed to take, though." Lorelei told them.

Just then, the circle lit up and expanded, the others moving back. Magic particles began to flicker around the area before the three suddenly reappeared, now with different outfits and a new level of power.

Nero wore gleaming silver armor with lions on the shinguards and shoulder guards, along with a red cape and large white wings coming out of her body. The armor only covered her outer body, as everything from her thighs up to her neck was out in the open, save for some small pieces of armor that covered her breasts and privates. Her sword was now constantly in its silver form.

Jeanne wore a full set of silver armor, covering everything as opposed to Nero, and with white and gold sashes draped around her body with the Fleur de Lys on them. Her hair was no longer braided and was straight down to her waist, and her head plate was shaped more like a crown, with rubies fitted into the top. She no longer had a flagpole, just a heavy silver greatsword with a golden hilt strapped to her back.

Scathach's weapons didn't change of course, but her outfit now had pieces of armor as well. Her feet were in black titanium boots, her skirt's length was increased to a waistcoat, and her torso and arms were now covered in the same armor as well. She had shoulder guards now, and beneath them, a small cloak that went down to her back, as well as a dark veil over her hair.

"D-Did you do it?!" Lorelei asked, in awe of their new forms. They looked at each other before nodding at her.

"Yes. It was not easy, but we did it." Nero smiled.

"Not easy? What did you have to do?" Nightingale asked.

"When becoming a Grand Servant through artificial means, you must fight your homeland's most influential leader in order to win." Jeanne explained. "I had to do battle with Louis XIV, the normal Grand Ruler. He was quite the difficult opponent. He refused to back down until he was satisfied with how I viewed the position of a Grand Servant."

"I fought Constantine, a Roman Emperor long after my time, who was championed by the people for creating a second Rome, Constantinople. He was also a Ruler class."

"I myself fought Robert the Bruce, a Saber class who said that he was Scotland's liberator, claiming the Throne and fighting a war against the English."

"Louis XIV, Constantine the Great, and Robert the Bruce, huh...indeed, three of the most well-known and benevolent rulers in history." Lorelei confirmed. "What did they teach you about the position?"

"We were looking at the position too arrogantly, to achieve our personal vendettas." Jeanne shook her head. "King Louis said that being a Grand Servant means taking on an immense responsibility when you are summoned in your Grand form. You no longer work for your Master, you work for the good of your people, your country, and the planet."

"What you decide needs to keep the planet's inhabitants in mind, and you must ensure that your actions will benefit the world in some way, shape or form." Nero added.

"There are two sides to every conflict. While we are out to stop the Inner Circle from controlling the world, leaving them alone could also benefit the world greatly, as evident by what they've already done in reforming their countries." Scathach went on.

"So...you have a new resolve?" Lorelei asked.

"Yes. We'll defeat them not out of a desire for vengeance or necessity, but out of a desire for the continuous order of the world's political agendas. Leaving Servants in charge now will be a drastic change for the people that they are most likely not ready for. And having them exposed to the power of a Servant every day would not be good for them, especially if Angra ends up summoning more Servants later on to continue this plan for other countries." Scathach explained.

"Regardless Lorelei, we were too late after all. The world is now aware of Magecraft, and however these battles end up going, it's only going to become more prevalent with the level of power used. As the Vice-Director of the Mage's Association, you should prepare an address of some kind to calm everyone once all of this has blown over." Jeanne advised.

"We'll try to finish this as quickly as possible. The three of us are only going to be in these forms for a certain amount of time, after all. There wasn't enough magical energy left to let us be in them permanently like the others." Nero told her seriously.

"Very well then." She nodded.

"Alright. As we planned then! Even if Nobu and Kato are no longer with us, we can do this!" Jeanne rallied.

"Scathach and Musashi, you two will travel to Tokyo to fight Hijikata. Nero and Nightingale, you two will go to Paris to fight Edmond. Altera and I will go to Jerusalem to fight Solomon. When we're finished, we'll meet up in Jerusalem and head to Luxor together to fight Ramesses as a team. From there, we'll head to Tehran for the final battle against Angra Mainyu. Musashi, Nightingale, and Altera, as you three are not Grand Class, your top priority will be containing the potential damages to the city as well as keeping the people out of harm's way. Understood?"

They all nodded.

"Good! Then let's head out!" The six of them split up into their respective teams and entered spirit form, their particles all traveling in different directions towards their targets.

Only Lorelei remained, watching the ritual circle finally disappear. She went back to her office and noticed that the notebook was gone, catching her eye.

"So, someone was able to open it after all." She noticed, sitting down and looking out the window.

"It's up to you now…"

 **X**

Scathach and Musashi arrived in Tokyo, looking through the streets, seeing that the people were actually going about their normal lives without much concern.

"Um, excuse me!" Musashi called out to a few citizens who stopped and looked at her curiously.

"What do you all think of Hijikata?" They began murmuring and one of them stepped forward.

"He's a good leader. But he's a samurai from a time that Japan is no longer in...and that's always going to come first no matter how much he tries to be a modern leader. We like him, since he's making us appear more confident as a country, but...we would rather have the Prime Minister and Royal Family back…But it's not like we have the power to do anything about that..." She said softly, the others nodding in agreement.

"I see." Musashi acknowledged them. "My friend and I are here to help with that. We are like him, and are able to defeat him, if you so wish."

"Could you really?" Another man asked.

"Yes. My name is Scathach, I am a warrior from Celtic Mythology. I can defeat Hijikata and set things right for you."

"Y-Yes!" They cried out happily.

"Very well then. It will not be easy, and I imagine there could be some collateral damage to the city, so I want all citizens to follow my friend here to a safer location, and get the attention of others as well."

"My name is Miyamoto Musashi! As a native of this country myself, I want what's best for the people, of course. So follow me!" She cheered, directing them away from the government buildings.

"O-Of course, Ms. Musashi!" They called out happily.

Waiting a few minutes until there were no other people around, Scathach entered the grounds of the Royal Palace, and exhaled, before inhaling.

"HIJIKATA!"

Sitting in one of the meditation rooms inside of the buildings, Hijikata raised his head upon hearing her voice ring out throughout the palace grounds.

His eyes sparking with red lightning, he calmly walked out to greet her, seeing her new form.

"Well well. Look who's here. And may I ask why you're here?"

"My rematch. You owe me one." She glared at him.

"I don't owe any of you anything. I defeated you all fair and square. You shouldn't have a reason for a rematch." He crossed his arms.

"What an ignorant thing to say. As a samurai and a warrior yourself, you should understand exactly how I feel. I lost, and I won't stop until I defeat you."

"'Until you defeat me?' So you want to take me away from the people that I've been helping over the past week?"

"Your people no longer have influence within the government. They like you, but they like the old way better. You're a nationalist. People feel uneasy about their leaders when they know that they're too powerful to speak out against."

"I am not the same as those leaders. North Korea and Japan are very different from each other, they always have been."

"Have they? The Emperor used to be the sole authority in the country. It's only changed in the last century. You may not have been as authoritarian in your practices, but I see no difference in your government types."

"Heh. And the West was ruled by Monarchs for centuries."

"Ruled by Monarchs and Councils that advised them."

"Like the Roman Senate? We all know how that turned out with Caesar."

"Then why do you support the National Diet and the Prime Minister? The Emperor has been a ceremonial position since the end of the War."

"Because the world nowadays is run on Democracy. I can't suddenly declare myself Emperor again, or the other countries will likely declare war on us. We are at the mercy of Britain and the United States. If we step out of line, we're in trouble. Our actions during the last war will never be forgotten, even if was the agenda of a nationalist military and not the people."

"...You know, you'd almost make a convincing Saber, but your rationale is still that of a Berserker. You're beating around the bush without acknowledging the real problem: yourself. You took over the government by force, became a leader the people didn't want, and you are taking this country in a direction that nobody wants to go. Angra once told me that you're the Grand Berserker because you're the only one in your whole class to not lose your sense of reason at some point in your past, you just fight like a madman. But I don't know if that's entirely true."

"Fine then. Have it your way!" His red lightning started up again, along with blue flames this time, and his eyes became completely white, yelling out as he unsheathed his sword and dashed at her. But he was sent flying back when Scathach used the end of her spear to strike him in the stomach, flying through some trees and hitting one of the stone lanterns in the grounds.

"Gggghhhh…"

"Surprised? Don't think that I'm the same as before."

"So you've become Grand Lancer." He stood up and dusted himself off, walking towards her again, his aura only enhancing.

"But you seem to have forgotten that I easily overpowered you before without being Grand Class myself. By that logic, I'm still stronger than you now."

"We'll see about that." She ran at him, extending her leg for a roundhouse kick to her neck, but he ducked and slugged her in the stomach before sweeping her feet out from under her.

Scathach coughed out fluid from the previous blow, but got to her feet just as quickly to avoid a follow up strike from Hijikata, then backflipped away from him, and the two remained at a stalemate, just as they were before.

"You are aware of what becoming Grand Class does to your powers, yes?" Hijikata asked.

"Yes. Your Noble Phantasms are elevated by two categories, and there is the possibility that you are given new powers and Noble Phantasms along with that."

"Yes. My Noble Phantasm is now an Anti-Army class, and my weapons are strong enough to tear through the earth itself. Shinsengumi...it's time to go. The Flag of Sincerity...is undying! Slash! Advance! Slash! Advance! I am the Shinsengumi!" He drew his sword and ran towards her, yelling angrily as his red lightning and blue flames only intensified. He slashed twice in an X shape, Scathach dodging the strikes, but the aura from the sword extended into the dirt, cutting through the ground and causing a shockwave that went further into the grounds. He then readied his rifle and blasted a beam of fire and gunpowder from it, again Scathach dodged, and again it went further into the grounds and shattered one of the stone wall boundaries.

"You're fast enough to dodge it...that's impressive." He calmed down, glaring at her.

"My turn. I shall take you to the Land of Shadows...Gae Bolg Alternative!" She tossed her spear into the air and jumped up, kicking it back towards Hijikata, where it split into many copies and rained down towards him. He slashed his sword through the air, stopping some of them while dodging others.

"Now stab and penetrate...Thrust and drill! Gae Bolg Alternative!" When she landed, she summoned another copy of the weapon and hurled it at him, impaling him through the chest and sending him flying through the grounds. Summoning another copy, she walked up to him, still pinned against the wall, pointing her new spear at his throat.

"Not bad…" Hijikata coughed, slowly resting his hands on the spear already in him, slowly pulling it out before it disappeared.

"Are you finished yet? I don't wish to use Gate of Skye against you. We were comrades once."

"The only comrade I have...is Okita…!" He growled, his aura flaring up again but changing him. His body was now darkened in a red and orange energy, with fire emanating off of him. He ignored his wound and stood up, slashing Scathach across the stomach and kicking her away with a massive amount of force, sending her flying to the other side of the grounds.

Even though he was bleeding heavily, Hijikata completely ignored the hole in himself, even though it was bleeding profusely, just continuing on towards Scathach with his sword and rifle drawn, the orange aura continuing to flare off of him.

"Hijikata…?" Scathach asked, wincing from her wounds as she stood up.

He did not respond, and she took note of his changed appearance.

"You've become a true Berserker now." She twirled Gae Bolg before preparing to slam the hilt to the ground, but stopped when she noticed Musashi closing in on the area out of the corner of her eye.

"Scathach, they're all safe!" She called out before taking notice of Hijikata.

"Move back, I'll handle him!" She drew one her swords. Scathach nodded and moved away, Hijikata's attention turning to Musashi.

"Ishana Daitenshou!" Her sword lit up with a beam of purple energy before she slammed it into the ground towards him, engulfing him in the blast. But when it disappeared, he remained, with no further damage done to him whatsoever.

"What?!" Musashi looked shocked, as he began to step towards her, but Scathach took action first. Tapping the bottom of her spear against the ground, a cold wind began to blow from behind her, catching his attention again.

"Gate of Skye!"

Hijikata began to be sucked up by the gate, but aimed his gun at the structure and fired another beam of energy from it, shattering the doors and stopping the Noble Phantasm.

Scathach, in a panic, launched more copies of Gae Bolg at him, all of which he avoided, continuing to run at her.

"This new state of his has made him unresponsive, but his mind is still working just fine like before! It's basically a giant powerboost for him!" She complained, preparing another two spears.

He yelled out, slashing with his sword again, but she dodged it and pierced him again with both spears before quickly pulling them out, making him stagger back.

"I suppose I have no choice. If even Gate of Skye won't work, then I'll have to use my new one." She held her two spears out from her, facing away from each other.

"Slaughter. Without exception. Liberate all curses. Without moderation. Be prepared to challenge despair. Curruid Coinchenn!" Both spears broke and a dark cloud of energy surrounded her body as she transformed. When the cloud dispersed, she wore sharp black and red armor made out of Gae Bolgs.

"Normally, this is a Noble Phantasm only usable by one of Cu's iterations. Gae Bolg was originally crafted from the bones of a sea monster, Curruid, killed by another, Coinchenn. Since I am the original wielder, I should be able to summon this armored form of it, but because Cu is more well-known for using it, it is normally only usable by him. But now that I'm Grand Class and I have the strength I once held in life, I can call upon it myself. But it matters little. This is what will kill you, Hijikata. You've been walking this earth for far too long."

He growled before yelling out again, and the two clashed, with Scathach's claws piercing through his body, continuing to slash through him, preventing him from getting to land a hit on her. She ended by gathering energy on the long spike on her helmet, and stabbing him just below his throat. At last, breaking away, Hijikata fell backward, hitting the ground hard with many wounds continuing to bleed out and eat away as his stamina. He was pulled out of his Berserker state, noticing that he was beginning to disappear, and Scathach deactivated her armor, looking down at him, Musashi walking up as well.

"So...I lost after all…in a similar way as before, too…" Hijikata coughed, looking up at them.

"Hijikata. Why did you agree with Angra? Yes, Japan has certainly changed since the days of mystery, folklore, and samurai, but they still very much value those things in their new modern culture, one of the most vibrant and respected in the entire world. Why force the country to change that?" Musashi asked.

"...For millennia, Japan had been in charge of its own destiny. Since Emperor Jimmu ascended the Throne in the 7th Century BC, we were one of the great powers in Asia. Where we are geographically, close to the mainland for allies, trading, and support, but far enough away to have our own culture. And we were independent. When China wanted to subjugate us, we resisted, and maintained our own identity. When Mongolia wanted to conquer us, we fought back and won."

"With help from two typhoons." Musashi interjected.

"That's besides the point...When we broke out into civil war, everyone fought for their beliefs. But when the west invades us, we suddenly give into their demands and become pushed around. So we reason with them, and become more powerful as a nation. But then...we become too confident, and end up on the receiving end of two nuclear weapons. And so our powers as a nation are mostly taken away, and we have to be subservient to other nations for decades. In 40 years, it will be a century since those dreaded days. Little has changed since the end of the war. We no longer have a functioning military, or the ability to declare war on another country, just defense forces. Our Emperor, once descended from Amaterasu herself, is now a fragile, ceremonial position. And if we step out of line on something, we are threatened by our so-called allies out of fear of rising up again. The other Asian countries can barely forgive us for what we did to them. But with Magecraft...the Mage's Association and Japanese Servants could make things right again! Run the government effectively, not too strong or too soft. Negotiate some of our powers back, make us stand up to others, make us appear more whole as a nation…"

"That's not what the people want." Musashi shook her head, continuing.

"Throughout our history, our country has been dominated by the Nobility and Samurai class. The people's interests were often represented by them without getting any say. Sometimes this worked out, and sometimes it did not. But many of our past decisions were due to the ruling and military classes, not the people. The country's actions in the last war were largely not the will of the people, they were the will of Nationalist, corrupt generals. Even the Emperor was not aware of some of their plans." She looked down sadly.

"Hijikata. I can understand your intentions and why you agreed with Angra. But I hope that you can also see where we are coming from as well. There is a time and place for everything, and your people do not want to be forced into a situation that makes them rethink their entire lives and identities as humans. We're admittedly too late, because we failed to stop you from going public in the first place...but we can still stop you now before you go too far." Scathach told him.

"...I see. I wonder...if this was truly something I believed in...or if it was just a result of my Berserker tendencies...and to think...I had just beaten Meiji...only to be defeated here….how pathetic….." Hijikata's body completely disappeared, his spirit particles being swirling into the sky and being sent back to the Throne.

"Hey…" Musashi looked at Scathach questioningly.

"Yes?"

"Is being a Servant...truly a blessing? Or is it a curse?"

"...I think it depends on the Servant that you ask. Some, like Ramesses, consider it to be a blessing, being important enough in world history to be deemed a Servant, and live on in immortality, continuously summoned, and able to exert your influence on other modern day humans. But on the other hand...Hijikata seemed to think that he was cursed, doomed to serve Master after Master only to die another death, unable to change his fate or his homeland's."

"And what about you? What do you think?"

"...I'm not sure. I hope I'll have an answer when all of this is over. And you?"

"...The same."

 **End.**

 **Monarchs/Leaders I would like to see as Servants:**

 **Robert the Bruce- 5* Saber**

 **Elizabeth I- 4* Ruler**

 **Queen Victoria- Has been confirmed as either Caster or Saber, probably 4***

 **Louis XIV- 5* Ruler**

 **Saint Louis (Louis IX)- 4* Caster or Ruler**

 **Hadrian- 3* Rider**

 **Trajan- 4* Saber**

 **Constantine- 5* Ruler**

 **Mao Zedong- 3* Berserker or Avenger**

 **Genghis Khan- 4* Rider or Saber**

 **Jimmu- 5* Saber**

 **Meiji- 5* Saber or Ruler**

 **Peter the Great- 4* Saber**

 **Catherine the Great- 5* Ruler**

 **Joseph Stalin- 3* Berserker/Avenger**

 **Thutmose III- 4* Lancer**

 **Moses- 5* Caster**

 **Cyrus the Great- 5* Ruler**

 **Otto I- 4* Rider**

 **Mansa Musa I- 4* Rider**


	14. Part 4: Paris

**Hayashi: Pop Quiz. How many Monarchs has France had?**

 **Marie: Um...I'm going to guess 100!**

 **Hayashi: Wrong.**

 **Louis XIV: 52.**

 **Hayashi: Wrong.**

 **Napoleon: What do you mean wrong?! That's exactly how many there were!**

 **Hayashi: Yeah, but that's not the answer I was looking for. Edmond?**

 **Edmond: Nobody cares, they just remember the handful of important ones.**

 **Hayashi: Correct!**

 **Marie, Louis, Napoleon: Who are the important ones?**

 **Hayashi: Basically the three of you, your husband and Charlemagne.**

 **Napoleon: …..That's fair.**

 **Songs**

 **Paris: Dream Refuge (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Vs. Edmond: Laurence, The First Vicar (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Monte Cristo Mythologie: Lady Maria (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Edmond's Defeat: Epilogue (Dark Souls III OST)**

Nero and Florence walked through the streets of Paris at night, looking around the city. There weren't very many people out, since it was almost midnight, but Paris also did not have as much of a nightlife scene as Tokyo, so citizens tended to go to bed earlier. This made it easier to navigate and get to Elysee Palace.

"Have you ever been in this city before?" Nero asked.

"Yes, when I was alive. It's wonderful, but I must admit it does feel rather creepy at night."

"Creepy?"

"Yes. Paris is a very old city. It is not nearly as old as Rome, but it has just as much history, if not more. One of the biggest sources of fear and suspicion for people here is the catacombs."

"The catacombs?"

"Indeed. A few centuries back, remains from many people were moved into tunnels underground that were made even earlier during the Hundred Years War, due to the overflow of cemeteries in the city. So underground, there is a location where there are many bones and skulls built into the wall. And at night...you get the idea."

"How chilling." Nero shivered slightly.

"Scared?"

"No, I'm cold. Look at this armor, my whole body's out in the open!" she complained.

The two continued towards the palace before being greeted by a voice and a dark, cloaked figure standing atop a nearby church.

"Let me save you the trouble of going all the way to Elysee. I'd rather not trash the place."

Nero and Nightingale looked up, where they saw Edmond looking down at them condescendingly.

"There you are!" Nero called out. Edmond flourished his cape and appeared standing opposite of them within mere moments.

"It's been quite a while since we fought. I hope you have become stronger since then."

"I had hoped that you could tell just by looking at me."

"Yes, your new form...so you have achieved the rank of Grand Saber. I would say impressive, but you managed to do so only because of the leftover magic from our former associates, no?"

Nero glared at him.

"So tell me, who did you have to fight to achieve this new power of yours?"

"Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome."

"Ahh. Quite the formidable opponent. I fought Louis XIV myself. A powerful servant, but as the regular Grand Avenger candidate, a Grand Ruler candidate such as himself was no match for my powers."

Nero and Nightingale remained silent, looking at him determined.

"What?"

"I want to ask you something. Why did you ally with Angra when he summoned you?" Nero asked seriously.

"Oh. I had hoped that would be obvious by now. Justice. We each have our own ambitions and reasons for joining him. Mine is proper Justice being enforced. I believe that many countries in this world should be tougher on criminals, to ensure that those who truly did commit crimes get the proper punishment or correction that they need. As someone who has personally seen and lived through the problems of these unjust criminal systems, I know what needs to be done."

"...I have read your novel. When I was alive." Nightingale told him.

"Oh? And what did you think?"

"I understand why you would want to change these things. The betrayal you suffered at the hands of the justice system made you the world's most famous avenger, after all, and it is thanks to that that you are a Heroic Spirit in the first place. But you got revenge, and you left your grudges behind at the end of your story, instead seeking a life with Haydee, your lover. Why change things now? The justice system has already come far beyond what it used to be in most countries."

"...Do you not remember what I told you months ago in Bran? My True Name is The Count of Monte Cristo. Indeed, Edmond Dantes may have agreed with you and left these issues alone, but I am an Avenger. In fact, Angra and I are the only true Avengers. That Alter form of Jeanne, even Antonio Salieri, they are not the same as the two of us. Jeanne Alter is an artificial existence, angry at those who betrayed her in her home country, when in fact she has been exonerated as a Saint for nearly 600 years now. She is angry for the sake of being angry. And Salieri's thirst for revenge was not even real, it was only because of public slanderings against him. On the other hand, Angra's anger became a part of him to the extent that he doesn't even get angry anymore. And I am most well known for being someone who spreads fear throughout the nobility of the French Empire. So, even if my vengeance was satisfied at the end of my book, as a Heroic Spirit, it will never be quenched. Anger is what makes me a Servant!"

"The Grail is cruel…" Nero said calmly, after a few seconds of silence.

"Indeed. Do you remember what happened with Salieri? Mozart and Marie restored his memories to him. He momentarily forgot about his vengeance. But he's back in the Throne, and when he sees him again, he'll go back to normal. He's an Avenger, this is the curse of our class. We cannot control ourselves. But now that I have become a Grand Avenger, I need to rise above my own concerns, and focus on the good of the world."

"I hate to break it to you, but it sounds like only you believe that. You're clearly doing this because you're still stuck in your own past. You're not going to get over it this way."

"I'm never going to get over it. But is that such a bad thing? If I accomplish what I'm trying to and make a more efficient justice system, I'm preventing French citizens from getting caught in the same trap that I fell for."

"On the one hand, I'm interested in seeing how that would play out. But on the other, we have a job to do, and we can't leave someone like you in charge of criminal prosecution." Nero gripped her sword and pointed it at him.

"Very well then. I hope you can actually hit me this time!" A purple magic cloak surrounded him, and he dashed at the two of them, but this time Nero could see him and slashed outward, making Edmond jump back, once again at a stalemate.

"Nightingale, go hide somewhere nearby for when I need your healing or Noble Phantasm. He and I need to do this."

"Yes." She began to run towards a building out of view, and Nero and Edmond flew at each other again, clashing multiple times, her with her sword, and him with his lightning tipped with black flames.

"Now take this!" Edmond flew behind her and gathered blue electricity onto his palms, pressing them against her armor, acting as a conductor, electrocuting her before he kicked her away, then blasted a wave of black flames at her.

Nero recovered and slashed her sword through the flames, dispersing them before flying back at him, faster than before.

Edmond, startled at her speed, used his time manipulation powers to dash out of the way faster than humanly possible, surprising Nero as well as she crashed into a building.

Edmond then slammed his palms on the ground, channeling lightning through his palms again, shooting up through the building that she was in as pillars. Nero flew up through the building and cut through the ceiling, avoiding the attacks, then stopping midair, bringing her sword behind her before swinging it over her shoulder, shooting off sparkling silver beams of light towards him. Edmond gathered black flames on his hand and slashed through the attack with a makeshift claw.

Now she swung her sword in a circle overhead, creating a tornado of sharp rose petals that flew around him in a whirlwind. He started slashing at them, but there were so many that they kept inflicting small cuts all over his body. He once again used his enhanced speed to cut through the rest, looking back up at her.

She had ignited her sword with flames and dashed towards him again, Edmond clashing with it with his claw, but she pushed through and sliced through him, doing a fair bit of damage.

"Damn it!" He held his chest as a big gash opened, spilling blood everywhere.

"Now, behold my glory! Hear the thunderous applause! Sit down and praise my golden theater! Kingdom of Heaven and Hell...my heaven, reconstructed! This is where the limelight shines! Aestus Domus Aurea!" Placing her sword in the ground, her theater materialized, trapping him inside of it. She ignited her sword in flames again and brought it to her side, preparing to cut through him again.

"Open the gate! The curtain to the solo stage draws! Behold my talent! Listen to the thunderous applause! Praise it! The Golden Theater! Laus Saint Claudius!" Running at him, her fiery blade sliced through him, making him fall to the ground, Nero's theater disappearing as she let her sword disperse.

"Nero, you're not finished yet! Don't forget about his second Noble Phantasm!" Nightingale called out, prompting her to look behind her.

"Attendre, Espérer." Edmond healed himself and got up again, radiating a stronger aura.

"Remember what this Noble Phantasm does? It revives me from the brink of death and brings me back to full health with an increase in all of my abilities."

"Yes, I'm aware." Nero slashed at him again, but this time he knocked it away with his claws before grabbing her face and electrocuting her, making her scream out, falling onto the pavement.

"Nero!" Nightingale ran out from her hiding spot towards her, but Edmond blasted purple flames at her, knocking her back through the street, her outfit beginning to catch on fire, startling her.

"Nightingale…!" Nero flipped back up and swung her sword into Edmond's side, cutting through him, and dashing towards her, flapping her wings to put out the flames before Florence began to heal herself.

"You bitch…fine then...clearly, I need to ramp up my powers to defeat you for good. Monte Cristo Mythologie!" His face became shrouded in darkness and became more sinister looking, while purple flames surrounded his body, creating claws again.

Nero prepared to fight him again, flying at him, but he appeared behind her again, making her fly into another building.

"I can warp space to a degree as well, thanks to my powers. The Monte Cristo Mythologie...a number of treasures hidden in the mountains of Christ, giving anyone who uses them supernatural powers on the level of a Servant hailing from the Age of Gods. With my medallion, I can control fire, lightning, poison, darkness, time and space, and combine them however I wish. Your abilities are nothing compared to mine."

"I admit...that is quite the Noble Phantasm...But I'm still not going to let you live." She summoned her theater again.

"Clear the way! The emperor makes her passage! Sunlight of spring, dancing of flowers. The fragrant wings of June brush against your cheeks. Blessing beyond the stars. Open, Nupitae Domus Aurea! Sing, Fax Caelestis!" She dashed passed him again and sliced, placing her sword into the ground as a pillar of flames engulfed him, but this time she kept her theater active, hoping to weaken him and strengthen herself due to its time benefit.

But when the flames disappeared, he hadn't taken any damage.

"What…?!" Nero looked at him in horror.

"My body is made of darkness and fire when this Noble Phantasm is fully active. In other words, it's intangible." He backhanded her with one of his claws, knocking her back.

"How sad. Even with your newfound strength, you'll never be able to defeat me." She struggled to get up again, and he kicked her back further.

"You need to understand that you are the ones who are interfering with the world's progress. Do you really want civilization to not progress as fast as it could? Magecraft can change all of that!"

"People are afraid of you. They don't understand. You got your position by threatening the current heads of the government, and you have the power to erase cities at your whim. No one like that should be leading a nation!" Nero stood up again, slashing at him, but it once again went through his body.

"They will get used to it. Remember that they will be given magic to use themselves. It will change everything."

"You're wrong. I don't know what Angra told you, but that's not how magecraft works. Only 10% of the world's population is able to use it to some extent. Master was the first one in his family with true magical talent for generations. There won't be many people that can use it, and they'll just be all the more intimidated and submissive to you."

"Oh? You think you know everything, don't you? Just because you lived during an age that was more mysterious than my own? Well newsflash, Empress, I didn't have any innate magical talent either. I came to understand this world through my medallion, granting me these powers. Who's to say we can't do the same for these people?"

Nero remained quiet for a few seconds before shaking her head.

"Are you forgetting your own origin? You are a character in a novel. The same circumstances can most likely not be duplicated-"

"MY PATH GOES BEYOND LOVE AND HATE! ENFER CHÂTEAU D'IF!" His rage overtook him, and he kicked Nero up into the air, flying around her with blue flames streaking behind him, burning and slashing her each time, making her scream out in pain.

"Now to finish it!" As she slowly began to fall to the ground, he made clones of himself and they all fired blasts of lightning at her, culminating in a giant blue orb of surging electricity, engulfing her and shocking her entire body, forcing her to let out a horrific shriek.

Nero fell to the ground, collapsed in a heap, her skin ashy because of the electrocution. Edmond landed gracefully next to her, looking down condescendingly.

"It's as I told you before, you're still no match for me."

"Treatment, start. I will abstain from everything that is harmful and everything that is poisonous. I will stop them with all my strength and guide everybody to happiness! Nightingale Pledge!"

Edmond whirled around to see Nightingale emerged from her hiding place, with the angel in white manifested above her, with her sword held over her head. He quickly blasted fire and lightning at her, but the sword swung down and the attack disappeared, as well as his powers, forcing his cloak and appearance back to normal. Nero was healed as well.

"What have you done…?! This didn't work last time!"

"That's because last time you hadn't said its true name, and it was a part of your being. But now that it's been revealed as a Noble Phantasm, my own Noble Phantasm recognizes that it can be negated. Your offensive powers thanks to that medallion are monstrous for sure, but without them, I imagine that your physical defense won't help you much against someone as strong as Nero!" Florence took out her pistol and shot at him three times, hitting him in the chest, staggering him.

"I'm a Grand Servant! I should be above your abilities!"

"My Noble Phantasm ignores class differences. All harmful effects will be negated for the sake of healing others." She closed her eyes.

"Let's see you try to dodge this now…!" Nero stood up and slashed him across the torso, making him cough up blood and fall onto the ground.

"Olympia Plaudere! Raise the stage of the festival! The theater rises from within the sea- Extravagant! Magnificent! And elegant! Gaze upon it! This is the illustrius, Praised in Song! That is, my Golden Theater! Lauda Lentum Domus Illustrius!" Her strongest Noble Phantasm manifested itself, and the rays of purple light shot from the pipe cannons on the building towards him in an array of light, making him lose his composure. Engulfed by the attack, a huge explosion swept across the ocean and shattered the vision, bringing them back to the streets of Paris, Edmond lying on the ground, utterly defeated.

"It looks like...I beat you, after all." Nero panted.

"So you did…" he coughed.

"So...justice, huh?" Florence asked, walking up to them.

"Justice...there are many meanings to that word. But for myself...I was wrongfully scapegoated for something I didn't do, and betrayed by people who I thought were my allies. But I ended up in prison. And after I exacted my vengeance upon them, I gave up the life of an Avenger. Because revenge couldn't fix what happened to me. So I lived the rest of my life out with Haydee peacefully. But then I found myself on the Throne of Heroes, made to be an Avenger for the rest of eternity. Such is my curse. If Angra is an Avenger born out of hatred and speaking of love, then I am an Avenger born out of love and speaking of hatred. Fictional existence or not, when people read my novel, they side with me and my needs. They agree that that justice system was wrong and that shouldn't have happened. And there are many similarities to the actual justice systems in place today. I wanted to see if I could change them, to make them better for the people...but I guess I can't now."

"People need time to adjust to the concepts of mystery and magecraft-" Nero began.

"Don't give me some sad speech about that. Like I'm supposed to have learned a lesson? Ha! I regret nothing, and I would do it again if I had the chance. But then again...I would just be stopped again, wouldn't I…? Hehe, what a...meaningless...existence…" He whispered out, finally disappearing and going back to the Throne.

"...If you could rule Rome again to be more favorable in the history books, would you?" Nightingale asked.

"...At the start of this journey, I would have said yes without a second thought. But after meeting so many different servants, kings and queens, and about what Edmond said...I don't think anything I do now would counteract my initial rule. Some of us are just doomed to a poor legacy. The Grail makes sure of that." Nero said sadly, beginning to walk towards the National Assembly with Florence to inform them of his defeat.

 **End.**


End file.
